The The science experiment “TGF Monitor”, a discontinuous gamma-ray cadmium telluride (CdTe) detection system with polarimetric capabilities, which will open new technological and scientific horizons, led by the University of Coimbra (UC), has just been selected to go into space aboard the Space Rider, the first spacecraft Reusable European Space Agency (ESA).
The team was coordinated by Rui Corrado Silva, a professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California College of Science and Technology (FCTUC), with whom the Laboratory of Instrumentation and Experimental Particle Physics (LIP), University of Beira, is involved. Interior (UBI).) and Active Space Technologies (Coimbra) and Advacam (Prague, Czech Republic).
According to Rui Curado Silva, the “TGF Monitor” experiment, if successful, will “contribute to the creation of CdTe detectors as a technology with applications ranging from astrophysics to aviation security; and to further scientific measurements, particularly those related to terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs)” “. It states that TGFs “emerge from cumulus clouds (clouds with high vertical development associated with thunderstorm systems) and are a health and safety concern for aircrews and passengers.”
The experiment covers several topics, such as the effects of orbital radiation on CdTe detectors, “which can be used as level detection telescopes for high-energy astrophysics; Monitoring gamma emissions, specifically the Crab Nebula, with a CdTe detector with polarimetric capabilities; Scientific measurements of TGF emissions, in particular, the possibility of measuring linear polarizations can contribute to answering open questions about the physical processes that generate TGF”, details Rui Curado Silva.
The experiment also includes monitoring TGF emissions and evaluating the capabilities of pixelated CdTe detectors such as on-board TGF monitors. “Using it as an alert and to characterize the magnitude of emissions could be a valuable contribution to aviation safety,” says researcher and professor at FCTUC.
The Space Rider will be launched from Kourou (French Guiana) in 2024 aboard a Vega rocket. It will be in orbit for two months in low Earth orbit. The TGF Monitor experiment will be installed on the Space Rider “where you will be exposed to the space radiation environment. It will point to space, allowing the recording of gamma-ray emissions, for example from the Crab Nebula, as well as to Earth, recording TGF”, explains Rui Corrado Silva. At the end of the mission, The Space Rider will land in Kourou or at the airport on Santa Maria Island in the Azores.The experience will then be retrieved and analyzed.
In addition to Rui Corrado Silva, the team consists of researchers Jorge M. On the corporate side, the team consists of Felipe Castanheira, Federico Teixeira, Henrique Neves and Sara Freitas, of Active Space Technologies, Carlos Granga, Jerry Sestak and Jan Jacobek (Advacam).
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