Research of atmosphere by FIPEX

FIPEX is instrument for measurements of atomic and molecular oxygen.

The VZLUSAT-1 is one of the QB50 multi-spacecraft network for in-situ measurements in the lower thermosphere with onboard FIPEX instrument for measurements of atomic and molecular oxygen.

FIPEX of TU Dresden (ϕ-(Phi=Flux)-Probe-Experiment) is scientific instrument able to distinguish and measure the time resolved behavior of atomic oxygen as a key parameter of the lower thermosphere. Atomic oxygen is the dominant species in these regions and therefore its measurement is crucial in the correlation and validation of atmosphere models. Moreover, erosion of spacecraft surfaces due to interaction with atomic oxygen is a serious concern and merits insitu study in its own right.

The FIPEX Science Unit consists of the following experiments:

• ϕ-(Phi=Flux)-Probe-Experiment (FIPEX) by Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden (TU Dresden), Germany,
• Surface thermal monitors (STM) (supplied by MSSL) by Belgium.