Electric Field Detector on Board the CSES-02 Satellite for Characterization of Ionospheric Plasma Dynamics

• DOI: 10.1007/s11214-025-01167-5
• Publication Date: 2025-04-15T11:26:56Z
• Authors: Piero Diego; Davide Badoni; Cristian De Santis; Emanuele Papini; Alexandra Parmentier; Mirko Piersanti; Livio Conti; Gianmaria Rebustini; Roberto Ammendola; Simona Bartocci; Roberto Battiston; Igor Bertello; Piero Cipollone; Giulia D’Angelo; Fabrizio De Angelis; Emiliano Fiorenza; Giuseppe Masciant...; Alfredo Morbidini; Fabrizio Nuccilli; Piergiorgio Picozza; Andrea Russi; Alessandro Sotgiu; Roberta Sparvoli; Silvia Tofani; Pietro Ubertini; Nello Vertolli; Ugo Zannoni; Simona Zoffoli
• Keywords: On board

Abstract Ionospheric electric field monitoring has an important role in the understanding of the terrestrial environment and in the study of the various couplings with both the outer space and the ground level. The China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES) mission consists of a constellation of spacecrafts equipped with several instruments able to provide a large set of information, especially for applications ranging from Space Weather to Ionosphere-Lithosphere coupling. In this work we present the main features of the new Electric Field Detector (EFD-02), developed for the CSES-02 satellite, together with its measurement concept and peculiarities. The characteristics of each subsystem are reported to show the state of the art of the instrument. Particular emphasis is given to the high-level performance and novelties of EFD-02, which significantly improve the scientific information about plasma dynamics. The main scientific objectives of ionospheric electric field monitoring for both the low and high latitudes relevant to EFD-02 capabilities are finally described.