First electrostatic probe results from Explorer 17

Electrostatic probe results from ionospheric sounding by Explorer XVII satellit

Some winter characteristics of the northern high latitude ionosphere

Langmuir probe measurements of ionospheric electron density and temperature during winte

Direct measurements of helium and hydrogen ion concentration and total ion density to an altitude of 940 kilometers

Measurement of ion concentration and total ion density in exosphere using mass spectrometer and electrostatic prob

A theoretical model of the ionosphere dynamics with interhemispheric coupling

Dynamic model for ionospheric plasma with interhemispheric couplin

Cylindrical electrostatic probes employed on Alouette 2 and Explorer 31 satellites

Ionospheric electron temperature and density by cylindrical electrostatic probes aboard Explorer 31 and Alouette 2 satellite

Radar backscatter and rocket probe measurements of electron temperature above Arecibo

Comparison of radar backscatter and rocket probe measurements of ionospheric electron temperatur

Ionosphere Electron Temperature Measurements and Their Implications

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147864/1/jgrtb00020.pd

Use of Langmuir probes in non-Maxwellian space plasmas

Disturbance of the Maxwellian plasma may occur in the vicinity of a spacecraft due to photoemission, interactions between the spacecraft and thermospheric gases, or electron emissions from other devices on the spacecraft. Significant non-Maxwellian plasma distributions may also occur in nature as a mixture of ionospheric and magnetospheric plasmas or secondaries produced by photoionization in the thermosphere or auroral precipitation. The general formulas for current collection (volt–ampere curves) by planar, cylindrical, and spherical Langmuir probes in isotropic and anisotropic non-Maxwellian plasmas are examined. Examples are given of how one may identify and remove the non-Maxwellian components in the Langmuir probe current to permit the ionospheric parameters to be determined. Theoretical volt–ampere curves presented for typical examples of non-Maxwellian distributions include: two-temperature plasmas and a thermal plasma with an energetic electron beam. If the nonionospheric electrons are Maxwellian at a temperature distinct from that of the ionosphere electrons, the volt–ampere curves can be fitted directly to obtain the temperatures and densities of both electron components without resorting to techniques that attempt to derive the plasma distribution from the current by taking derivatives. For an arbitrary isotropic distribution, the current for retarded particles is shown to be identical for the three geometries. For anisotropic distributions, the three probe geometries are not equally suited for measuring the ionospheric electron temperature and density or for determining the distribution function in the presence of non-Maxwellian background electrons. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70117/2/RSINAK-70-7-3015-1.pd

Heat Pipe Powered Stirling Conversion for the Demonstration Using Flattop Fission (DUFF) Test

Design concepts for small Fission Power Systems (FPS) have shown that heat pipe cooled reactors provide a passive, redundant, and lower mass option to transfer heat from the fuel to the power conversion system, as opposed to pumped loop designs typically associated with larger FPS. Although many systems have been conceptually designed and a few making it to electrically heated testing, none have been coupled to a real nuclear reactor. A demonstration test named DUFF Demonstration Using Flattop Fission, was planned by the Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) to use an existing criticality experiment named Flattop to provide the nuclear heat source. A team from the NASA Glenn Research Center designed, built, and tested a heat pipe and power conversion system to couple to Flattop with the end goal of making electrical power. This paper will focus on the design and testing performed in preparation for the DUFF test

Plasma waves observed at low altitudes in the tenuous Venus nightside ionosphere

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95128/1/grl7140.pd