Cassini’s floating potential in Titan’s ionosphere: 3-D Particle-In-Cell Simulations
- Resource Type
- Conference
- Authors
- Zhang, Zeqi; Desai, Ravindra; Shebanits, Oleg; Miyake, Yohei; Usui, Hide
- Source
- 2023 XXXVth General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI GASS) General Assembly and Scientific Symposium of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI GASS), 2023 XXXVth. :1-4 Aug, 2023
- Subject
- Aerospace
Bioengineering
Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Components, Circuits, Devices and Systems
Engineered Materials, Dielectrics and Plasmas
Fields, Waves and Electromagnetics
Geoscience
Photonics and Electrooptics
Robotics and Control Systems
Signal Processing and Analysis
Space vehicles
Temperature measurement
Electric potential
Solid modeling
Plasma measurements
Ions
Plasmas
- Language
- ISSN
- 2642-4339
Accurate determination of Cassini’s spacecraft potential in Titan’s ionosphere is important for interpreting measurements by its low energy plasma instruments. Estimates of the floating potential varied significantly, however, between the various different plasma instruments. In this study we utilize 3-D particle-in-cell simulations to understand the key features of Cassini’s plasma interaction in Titan’s ionosphere. The spacecraft is observed to charge to negative potentials for all scenarios considered, and close agreement is found between the current onto the simulated Langmuir Probe and that observed in Titan’s ionosphere. These simulations are therefore shown to provide a viable technique for modeling spacecraft interacting with Titan’s dusty ionosphere.