Broadband analyzer IME-HF
for the TARANIS mission

TARANIS (Tool for the Analysis of RAdiations from lightNIng and Sprites) is a scientific micro-satellite of the French space agency CNES. The spacecraft platform is based on the MYRIADE series. Its launch on a Sun synchronous polar orbit at 700 km altitude is planned for the end of 2015. The anticipated lifetime will be 2-3 years.

TARANIS will carry a complex payload of six scientific instruments to study radiation and from lightning and optical phenomena (Transient Luminous Events) observed at altitudes between 20 and 100 km (blue jets, red sprites, halos, elves). The scientific instruments onboard TARANIS will detect electromagnetic radiation from very low frequencies up to 37 MHz, optical radiation, X rays (with an aim to study the Terrestrial "Gamma-ray" Flashes), and energetic electrons.

TARANIS with red sprites

Our team at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Prague lead by O. Santolik (lead co-investigator) from the Department of Space Physics , and I. Kolmasova (technical manager) from the Department of Upper Atmosphere actively participates on the preparation of the TARANIS mission. We are building a broad-band analyzer for the IME-HF instrument (IME-HF stands for "Instrument de Mesure du champ Electrique Haute Fréquence"). This instrument will record waveform measurements of fluctuating electric fields in the frequency range from a few kHz up to 37 MHz, with the following scientific aims:

Identification of possible wave signatures associated with transient luminous phenomena during storms
Characterization of lightning flashes from their HF electromagnetic signatures
Identification of possible HF electromagnetic or/and electrostatic signatures of precipitated and accelerated particles
Determination of characteristic frequencies of the medium using natural waves properties
Global mapping of the natural and artificial waves in the HF frequency range, with an emphasis on the transient events

Broadband analyzer IME-HF for the TARANIS mission

Broadband analyzer IME-HF
for the TARANIS mission