Other Space Activities

Kite Expedition

Feb 5, 2019

Positioning and Navigation

Kite-blown Antarctic Expedition to Confirm Galileo System

A kite-blown science expedition to the interior of Antarctica has made the most southerly positioning fixes yet made with Europe's Galileo satellite navigation system. ¹⁾ ²⁾

Their measurements not only confirm Galileo performance at extremely high latitudes, but also offer knowledge of space weather events overhead. In particular they offer insights into the ionosphere – the electrically active upper layer of Earth's atmosphere – above the southern continent, and the performance of Galileo software to correct ionospheric interference.

Figure 1: The Inuit WindSled is a multi-part sledge the size of a lorry, complete with mounted tents and solar power panels, pulled through the ice using a mammoth 150 m<sup>2</sup> kite (image credit: ESA) — Figure 1: The Inuit WindSled is a multi-part sledge the size of a lorry, complete with mounted tents and solar power panels, pulled through the ice using a mammoth 150 m² kite (image credit: ESA)

This ‘Antarctica Unexplored 2018-2019' expedition, mounted by Spain's Asociación Polar Trineo de Viento, is employing a unique zero-emission vehicle specially designed for polar exploration. The Inuit WindSled is a multi-part sledge the size of a lorry, complete with mounted tents and solar power panels, pulled through the ice using a mammoth 150 m² kite.

The Windsled's inventor, Ramón Larramendi, is also the expedition leader: "This marks the first time we've climbed the Fuji Dome in a vehicle driven by the wind – everyone who reached there before relied on motorized vehicles. So this is also the first time we've travelled more than 2,400 km with more than 2,000 kg of cargo using a vehicle that does not pollute the Antarctic continent.

"We are also doing this in collaboration with ESA, among other scientific institutions, which is very important because it allows us to demonstrate this polar eco-vehicle has excellent possibilities for enabling science in the interior of the Antarctica continent."

Figure 2: Expedition route: This four-person 'Antarctica Unexplored 2018-2019' expedition left Russia's Novolazarevskaya Base on 12 December 2018. For more than 40 days they made their way to Dome Fuji, a 3810-m high ice dome in Eastern Antarctica – one of the coldest places on Earth. After reaching the high point on 21 January 2019, they are now back at the Russian base. This expedition, mounted by Spain's Asociación Polar Trineo de Viento, is employing a unique zero-emission vehicle specially designed for polar exploration. The Inuit WindSled is a multi-part sledge the size of a lorry, complete with mounted tents and solar power panels, pulled through the ice using a mammoth 150 m<sup>2</sup> size kite (image credit: ESA) — Figure 2: Expedition route: This four-person 'Antarctica Unexplored 2018-2019' expedition left Russia's Novolazarevskaya Base on 12 December 2018. For more than 40 days they made their way to Dome Fuji, a 3810-m high ice dome in Eastern Antarctica – one of the coldest places on Earth. After reaching the high point on 21 January 2019, they are now back at the Russian base. This expedition, mounted by Spain's Asociación Polar Trineo de Viento, is employing a unique zero-emission vehicle specially designed for polar exploration. The Inuit WindSled is a multi-part sledge the size of a lorry, complete with mounted tents and solar power panels, pulled through the ice using a mammoth 150 m² size kite (image credit: ESA)

Figure 3: Photo of Inuit WindSled team members of 'Antarctica Unexplored 2018-2019' steering their sled (image credit: ESA)

This expedition carries a total of 10 scientific experiments from different research institutions, covering fields such as climate change, meteorology and astrobiology. ESA's involvement with the expedition is the Galileo Experimentation and Scientific Test in Antarctica (GESTA) project.

GESTA involves regular positioning fixes being made over the course of the expedition for all satellite navigation constellations in all kinds of weather and geomagnetic conditions encountered. ESA provided the satnav receiver, with GMV in Spain contributing an advanced signal recorder for data analysis.

One of the important aspects of the study is the monitoring of the ionosphere in such high latitudes during low solar activity. Ionospheric interference can degrade satellite navigation performance, and its incidence is linked to solar activity.

Figure 4: Expedition at plateau. The four-person 'Antarctica Unexplored 2018-2019' expedition, mounted by Spain's Asociación Polar Trineo de Viento, seen with their Inuit WindSled at high point of Dome Fuji, a 3810-m high ice dome in Eastern Antarctica on 21 January 2019 (image credit: Inuit Windshield) — Figure 4: Expedition at plateau. The four-person 'Antarctica Unexplored 2018-2019' expedition, mounted by Spain's Asociación Polar Trineo de Viento, seen with their Inuit WindSled at high point of Dome Fuji, a 3810 m high ice dome in Eastern Antarctica on 21 January 2019 (image credit: Inuit Windshield)

GESTA is overseen by ESA's Galileo Navigation Science Office, led by Javier Ventura-Traveset: "We are very pleased with this pilot scientific experience, having been able to collect Galileo measurements all over the expedition trip as planned. The expedition reached latitudes near 80 degrees south, to our knowledge the most southerly latitude measurements ever-performed in-situ with Galileo in its current near-complete constellation status.

Figure 5: Galileo satellite in orbit: Galileo satellites are placed in MEOs (Medium Earth Orbits), at 23,222 km altitude along three orbital planes so that a minimum of four satellites will be visible to user receivers at any point on Earth once the constellation is complete. The fifth and sixth Galileo satellites, launched together on 22 August 2014, ended up in an elongated orbit travelling out to 25,900 km above Earth and back down to 13,713 km. In addition, the orbits are angled relative to the equator less than originally planned (image credit: ESA-P. Carril)

"We have also collected data from all other global satellite navigation systems and all available different frequencies, which will allow us also to assess multi-constellation solutions and compare their performance on these conditions. The expedition team kept in continuous contact via satellite with our office, allowing us to plan their activity, asking, for example, for dedicated data collections during space weather relevant events."

Manuel Castillo, system engineer at the Galileo Navigation Science Office, explains: "Once the expedition data are delivered, we will be able to assess Galileo positioning, navigation and timing capabilities at polar latitudes and how they are influenced by space weather events during low solar activity. In particular, we will analyze if the occurrence of coronal holes is correlated with observed ionospheric interference. Coronal holes are open areas in the Sun's outer layer, the corona, that allow the solar wind to leave the Sun and reach Earth, triggering moderate geomagnetic storms.

"At this moment in the 11-year solar cycle, with the Sun close to minimum activity, full-scale solar storms are not frequent, but the ongoing communication between the WindSled team and the Galileo Navigation Support Office allowed us to coordinate measurement times during the three minor geomagnetic storms the expedition experienced during the trip."

Figure 6: A coronal hole in the Sun, observed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory on 5 January 2019. The resulting geomagnetic activity was measured through satellite navigation measurements by the 'Antarctica Unexplored 2018-2019' expedition in Antarctica. Coronal holes are open areas in the Sun's outer layer, the corona, that allow the solar wind to leave the Sun and reach Earth, triggering moderate geomagnetic storms (image credit: NASA)

The coronal holes, triggering these geomagnetic storms, were monitored, meanwhile, by Sun-watching missions such as NASA's Solar Dynamic Observatory, the NASA-ESA SOHO and ESA's PROBA-2 mission.

ESA's Galileo Navigation Science Office is based at ESAC (European Space Astronomy Center), near Madrid. It was set up in 2016 as a joint initiative between ESA's Science and Navigation Directorates, coordinating scientific opportunities through interaction with the scientific community and the independent GNSS Science Advisory Committee.

References

1) "Kite-blown Antarctic explorers make most southerly Galileo positioning fix," ESA Press Release, 4 February 2019, URL: http://m.esa.int/Our_Activities/Navigation/Kite-blown_Antarctic_
explorers_make_most_southerly_Galileo_positioning_fix

2) "Kite-blown Antarctic Explorers Make Most Southerly Galileo Positioning Fix," SpaceRef, 4 February 2019, URL: http://spaceref.com/antarctica-1/kite-blown-antarctic-explorers-make-most-
southerly-galileo-positioning-fix.html

The information compiled and edited in this article was provided by Herbert J. Kramer from his documentation of: "Observation of the Earth and Its Environment: Survey of Missions and Sensors" (Springer Verlag) as well as many other sources after the publication of the 4th edition in 2002. - Comments and corrections to this article are always welcome for further updates (eoportal@symbios.space).