Paper 14145-110
Paper 14145-110
Surface charging analyses of the Ariel spacecraft in transient plasma environments during Mission Early Orbit to L2
5 July 2026 • 17:30 - 19:00 CEST | Room B4-M3
Abstract
This work presents the results of recent simulations in the relevant plasma environments that the Ariel (Atmospheric Remote-sensing Infrared Exoplanet Large-survey) spacecraft will encounter during its early orbit until its operation around L2, including transients between different plasma regimes, where not negligible surface charging phenomenon is expected to occur. The objective of this study is to analyse the effects of these transient conditions to understand how the spacecraft’s surface charges will redistribute.
Presenter
Univ. degli Studi di Firenze (Italy), INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri (Italy), INAF - Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali (Italy)
Bachelor thesis focused on spacecraft surface charging, later expanded during the master’s thesis through advanced numerical tools and modelling techniques. Currently enrolled as a PhD student without scholarship at the University of Florence, Italy, within the project “Spacecraft and Payload Interactions with the Space Environment”, involving plasma interactions and spacecraft charging analyses for spacecraft and payload on the Ariel and Plasma Observatory missions. A research fellowship has recently been won at IAPS (Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali) in Rome, with work centred on spacecraft charging and radiation assessments specifically for the Plasma Observatory mission.