Czech version

Broadband analyzer IME-HF
for the TARANIS mission

TARANIS will carry a complex payload of six scientific instruments to study radiation and from lightning and optical phenomena (Transient Luminous Events) observed at altitudes between 20 and 100 km (blue jets, red sprites, halos, elves). The scientific instruments onboard TARANIS will detect electromagnetic radiation from very low frequencies up to 37 MHz, optical radiation, X rays (with an aim to study the Terrestrial "Gamma-ray" Flashes), and energetic electrons.

Our team at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Prague lead by O. Santolik (lead co-investigator) from the Department of Space Physics , and I. Kolmasova (technical manager) from the Department of Upper Atmosphere actively participates on the preparation of the TARANIS mission. We are building a broad-band analyzer for the IME-HF instrument (IME-HF stands for "Instrument de Mesure du champ Electrique Haute Frequence"). This instrument will record waveform measurements of fluctuating electric fields in the frequency range from a few kHz up to 37 MHz, with the following scientific aims:

• Identification of possible wave signatures associated with transient luminous phenomena during storms
• Characterization of lightning flashes from their HF electromagnetic signatures
• Identification of possible HF electromagnetic or/and electrostatic signatures of precipitated and accelerated particles
• Determination of characteristic frequencies of the medium using natural waves properties
• Global mapping of the natural and artificial waves in the HF frequency range, with an emphasis on the transient events

The instrument will be able to trigger and record interesting intervals of data using a flexible event detection algorithm.