Magnetometers are sensors used to measure magnetic fields from various locations across the globe.
The Earth鈥檚 magnetic field is constantly changing, so researchers need constantly updated data to revise the models that guide our navigation systems and help predict weather on Earth.
CU researchers Bob Marshall and Svenja Knappe are collaborating to bring down the cost of this process through the use of small satellites called CubeSats and tiny sensors previously used to collect measurements of the brain.
Magnetometers are sensors used to measure magnetic fields from various locations across the globe.
鈥淭here is an extensive array of ground-based magnetometers, but that鈥檚 not enough,鈥� said Marshall, an assistant professor in the Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences. 鈥淭here are huge gaps in global coverage based on where those magnetometers are located. You don鈥檛 have the full coverage you need for a global model. That鈥檚 where spacecraft come in.鈥�
Marshall is designing a satellite that fits in a CubeSat, a standardized satellite form about the size of a loaf of bread. These CubeSats cost much less to launch than large spacecraft and remain viable for longer due to less atmospheric drag.
鈥淚n this project we鈥檙e designing a proof-of-concept satellite and mission,鈥� Marshall said. 鈥淭his is more to prove that CubeSats can fill this role, after which we hopefully get more funding so it can be improved and made operational.鈥�
While Marshall focuses on the design of the satellite, Knappe is working on the magnetometer side of the project. An associate professor in mechanical engineering, she normally measures the magnetic field of the brain in听pediatric patients with epilepsy.听With that, her sensors need a makeover for this project.
鈥淏rain fields are very small,鈥� said Knappe, a member of the Quantum Integrated Sensors System IRT.听鈥淭he sensors we use really push the limits of sensitivity. For space, we don鈥檛 need that good a sensor, but the reading needs to be accurate.鈥�
Her sensors are compact and less expensive than other sensors. The biggest challenge is getting the sensor into space in a condition where it can still take measurements. The vibration of takeoff is the first obstacle to overcome.
鈥淭his is all flimsy when it comes to sending it into space and shaking it around,鈥� said Knappe. 鈥淚t鈥檚 meant for brain scans, and it鈥檚 made for brain scans.鈥澨�
Students in Knappe's lab working on the brain sensor.
Additional variables to account for include radiation and variation in temperature depending on location of the satellite with regard to the sun. They also need to make sure the CubeSat itself does not create so much magnetic noise as to disrupt the sensor readings.
Right now the satellite component of the magnetic field measurements is taken by a cluster of satellites named Swarm. Run by the European Space Agency, these satellites take very precise measurements, but those measurements come at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
鈥淐an we replace these measurements with a CubeSat, or constellation of CubeSats, that would each cost a million dollars or less?鈥� Marshall said. 鈥淭hat is the goal of this project.鈥�
All of this is funded by CU鈥檚 Grand Challenge to continue to push the boundaries of science in space.
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