BEXUS 8 Teams:

MATI

MATI - Measurement of Atmospheric Turbulence with combined Instruments

Turbulence is one of the most important research issues in atmospheric physics, since a comprehensive henomenological understanding is still missing. Because turbulence is the random fluctuation of the air mass at very small scales it is difficult to forecast and difficult to measure in the atmosphere. Within this project we want to measure small scale fluctuations of wind and temperature with high vertical resolution using three different measurement methods. MATIwind contains a thin tungsten wire operated at a constant temperature and we will measure the cooling effect caused by the atmospheric air flow passing the wire. Thus we can determine the wind fluctuations.
MATItemp will also contain a thin tungsten wire, but this wire will operate at a very low constant current source. The output, which represents the voltage drop over the wire (and hence its resistance), varies linearly with the ambient temperature and allows us to identify temperature
fluctuations. MATIsound will measure the speed of sound by emitting an acoustic sinusoidal signal with a loudspeaker and receiving this signal by two microphones. The emitted signal will undergo a phase shift, which is induced by atmospheric temperature changes. By detecting this phase shift we can determine the temperature fluctuations without thermal inertia. It would be the first time that those three methods are combined on the same balloon and therefore offer a good possibility to compare the results of the methods itself. Furthermore the data will be used to calculate typical parameters to characterise the nature of small scale turbulence and will be compared to simultaneously performed lidar and radar measurements. Thereby it is possible to deepen the knowledge of this phenomenon.

Team: Anne Theuerkauf, Manja Placke, Peggy Achtert

BEXUS 9 Teams:

NAVIS

NAVIS - North Atlantic Vessel Identification System

The main objective of the NAVIS team on the BEXUS flight is to test the ability of a studentdeveloped Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver to receive and decode real-life AIS radio signals from ships from high altitude. This AIS receiver will be the primary payload on the AAUSAT3 CubeSat and is intended to facilitate the tracking of ships from space. The Danish Maritime Safety Administration (DMSA) will support the experiment by providing AIS tracking information from land based AIS stations in and around the area of the balloon flight for comparison.

Team: Ulrik Wilken Rasmussen, Jeppe Ledet-Pedersen, Mads Hjorth Andersen, Troels Laursen, Nikolaj Bisgaard Pedersen, Troels Jessen and Hans Peter Mortensen

Compass

Compass - Calculating and Observing Magnetic Polar field intensity at StratoSphere

The COMPASS team aims to measure the direction and size of the geomagnetic field over a wide range of altitudes in the arctic zone and compare the results with the International Geomagnetic Reference Field (IGRF) model, evaluating possible differences, understanding their causes and calculating how precise attitude determination can be using this model. A magnetometer will be placed outside the gondola to avoid magnetic disturbance from the other experiments. To determine the attitude, an Inertial Measurement Unit will be used, in combination with an horizon sensor and a sun sensor.

Team: Serena Donati, Riccardo Ravaglia and Tommaso Cardona

CRIndIons

CRIndIons - Cosmic Ray Induced Ionization

The main focus of the CRIndIons project is to measure precisely in situ the Cosmic Ray Induced Ionization (CRII) and its rate throughout the atmospheric layers traversed during the balloon flight. There is still high ambiguity in specific ionization processes, impacting phenomenons in
magnetospheric and atmospheric physics, concerning global atmospheric electric currents and cloud forming conditions. We will use a novel ionizing radiation imaging approach for resolving the CRII rate and we will also test the feasibility of a completely new, low-cost and potentially accurate approach to measuring the ambient environment ion concentration - by dependence of breakdown voltage in a custom designed spark tube.

reel.SMRT

reel.SMRT

The reel.SMRT experiment aims to investigate the feasibility of a balloon-based microgravity platform, capable of multiple tests in a single mission. The system consists of a small capsule to be dropped from the main balloon gondola and then returned using a fishing reel and motor connected to the capsule by a high strength line. This is supported by a complex mechanical and electrical system that monitors and records information during the experiment operation. As a secondary benefit, it will be possible to take measurements of the atmospheric conditions at a distance from the gondola.

So-High

So-High

The main objective of the SO-hIgh project is to elaborate and test a miniaturized weather report board using MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) and SOI (Silicon On Insulator) technology. The project has three goals: to assess the performance of MEMS (standard and UCL) in near-space conditions; to qualify the SOI-MEMS sensors developed by the researchers of the Engineering School of Louvain for measurements of UV, humidity and pressure (off-the-shelf MEMS components will also be flown, for comparison); and to assess the cost benefits of using miniaturized components.