High Speed Plasma Probe and Electronics Suite

Busek is developing an instrument package for high fidelity measurements and long-term state-of-health monitoring of plasma properties from solar electric propulsion (SEP) plasma sources in test chambers and the space environment.The system includes a Faraday probe, a Langmuir probe, an ion energy analyzer, and electronics to drive the instruments.The probes together with the electronics that control them constitute the High Speed Plasma Probe and Electronics Suite (HSPPES).This instrument suite will be capable of both time-averaged measurements and high speed, time resolved measurements at frequencies up to ~100 kHz.The probes used for ground testing will initially be discrete units that may be translated with the plasma plume.Their data would be used to evaluate thruster performance, validate numerical plume models, and for state-of-health thruster monitoring.The breadboard model electronics module will be rack mounted and constructed from commercial parts.The engineering model will be packaged into a cube-like form factor and built for vacuum use.The in-space system will be designed for low power and a lifetime of 15 years.Plasma probes and electrical boards may be added, removed, or modified to satisfy variable mission requirements.