BackForwardInstrument:  EUV (ICON) 

Instrument details
Acronym EUV (ICON)
Full name Extreme Ultra Violet Imaging Spectrograph
Purpose To determine the altitude profile of the dayside ionospheric density through limb imaging in the extreme ultraviolet range.
Short description Imaging spectrometer operating in the EUV range 55-90 nm
Background Consolidated technology
Scanning Technique Limb sounding from a low-inclination LEO
Resolution 0.48°. In the limb region: 300 km
Coverage / Cycle Full interplanetary space and Earth's limb in 100 min (orbital period). Samplig at 1 image every 12 seconds.
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2020 to 2021
Last update: 2022-08-02
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Solar and space environment monitors
  • Space radiometer or spectrometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • Magnetospheric energetic particles and magnetometers
  • Ionospheric electron density sensor [in LEO and cross magnetosphere]
  • Ionospheric plasma density
  • Subcomponent 3
  • UV spectral imagery (e.g. GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO)
  • EUV spectrometer [from GEO, HEO, MEO, LEO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Electron Density
  • Ionospheric plasma density
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
EUV flux spectrum2 - very highNo specific limitation.Earth's limb observed, coarse spectral resolution
Ionospheric plasma density*5 - marginalNo specific limitation.EUV spectrometry of the Earth's limb
Electron Density*5 - marginalNo specific limitation.EUV spectrometry of the Earth's limb