E-Winds
E-Winds, a NASA-funded program to measure the time history of the nighttime
E-region neutral winds, launched 30 June 2003 from Wallops Flight Facility,
VA. In addition to collecting data that will help researchers discover how these
winds relate to the formation and descent of intermediate layers, E-Winds also
performed the first measurements of the layer of the ion composition after it
had descended below 120 km.
Absolute plasma density was measured on the instrumented payload and the three
mother-daughter payloads using a Plasma Frequency Probe (PFP) and Plasma Sweeping
Probe (PSP) instrument combination provided by SDL. As a backup plasma density
measurement technique (and a means of data comparison), a Direct Current Probe
(DCP) instrument was included in the SDL science instrumentation package. The
PFP/PSP/DCP instrument suite is commonly referred to as the Plasma Impedance
Probe (PIP). In a secondary science mission role, the PIP also measured plasma
collisional frequencies, ion-ion resonance characteristics, and plasma temperature.
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SDL's Plasma Capabilities