Research fellow of China-Brazil Joint Laboratory for Space Weather participates in a rocket experiment to study the Equatorial Ionosphere

A member of the staff of the China-Brazil Joint Laboratory for Space Weather (CBJLSW), the postoctoral fellow Dr. Siomel Savio, participated in an aeronomic experiment carried out on Dec. 09, 2018, as part of the group responsible by a Langmuir probe for ionospheric measurements among two experiments of the National Institute for Space Research (INPE) taken aboard of a VS-30 rocket designed and built by the Institute of Aeronautics and Space (IAE). The vehicle was launched from the Alcântara Launch Center at 13:43 LT (GMT-3), reaching an apogee of 124 km over the Atlantic Ocean.

The calibration of the Langmuir probe was performance by Siomel Savio together with Ing. Sinval Domingos, Tec. Cristiano de Castilho, and Dr. Polinaya Muralikrishna, members of the Aeronomy Division of INPE. It is expected that the probe will provide a more reliable determination of physical parameters, such as the numerical density and temperature of electrons in the proximity of the E-region, since its current configuration is a result of continuous improvement of the sensor characteristics for the diagnosis of the ionospheric plasma adopted in previous missions using sounding rockets as a platform with unique features that allows in situ measurements in an altitude range completely inaccessible to balloons and satellites. The collected data represent an essential need to confirm the geophysical nature of some anomalies that have been observed in the equatorial region of different longitudinal sectors.

Siomel Savio also took part in the coordination of simultaneous measurements with ground-based instruments for real-time monitoring of the ionospheric and meteorological conditions over the launch site, counting with the instrumental support of the Alcântara Launch Center, the Aeronomy Division (DIDAE/INPE), the State University of Maranhão (UEMA), the Brazilian Space Weather Study and Monitoring Program (EMBRACE/INPE), the University of Texas at Dallas, and the AMBER network.

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