Lab. Info.
Activites in the Space Science Laboratory are in close relationship with those of the Satellite Technology Center, a research center affiliated with KAIST, especially in the development of scientific payloads for rockets and satellites. Several payloads have been developed under this collaboration:high energt particle detectors and thermal electron measurement sensors for KITSAT-3 an dthe Korean Multi-purpose Satellite-1(KOMPSAT-1), both of which will be launched in 1999. These instruments will measure the space plasma environment during the solar maximum and study the effects of this harsh rediation environment on the microelectronics. In addition, advanced scientific payloads are proposed currently for the next scientific satellite KITSAT-4 including the Far Ultra-violet Imageing Spectrograph, Electrostatic Analyzer, and Solid State Telescope. These instruments combined with teh data from the magnetometer and the Langmuir probe will enhance our understanding of the interaction of the solar wind with the magnetosphere. The Far Ultra-violet Imaging Spectrograph prossesses the capability of detectiong very weak emission lines from hot interstellar media sush as supernova remnants and galactic coronal gas, which is essential to determine how our Galaxy evolves in time. Data analysis and modeling efforts are another aspect emphasixed in the Laboratory. Space observation data obtained by the Japanese satellite Akebono and NASA's space shuttle mission AstroSPAS(Orfeus) are currently being analyzed and the thermal electron data from the Planet-B mission for Mars are expected to be analyzed in the Laboratory in collaboration with Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Sciences(ISAS). Numerical modeling has been carried out using magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) codes and particle-incell(PIC) codes. The results from these numerical imulations help visual understanding of complex nonlinear plasma dynamics such as magnetic reconnection, solar wind interaction with magnetized planets, and even for the sheath formation in collisional plasma.