University of Calgary
Innovative Measurements of Auroral Geophysics for Education and Research (IMAGER) — The “Innovative Measurements of Auroral Geophysics for Education and Research” (IMAGER) project’s purpose is to demonstrate the capability of a CubeSat-borne mini plasma imager (MPI) to measure ionospheric winds and temperatures for future auroral science and space weather satellite missions, while training Canadian students in the skills needed to invent new scientific instruments and to carry out space physics research. IMAGER’s main objectives are to upgrade the MPI’s charged-particle sensor to increase sample rate and mitigate supply-chain risks; to fly the imager on a suborbital sounding rocket and a CubeSat to prove its measurement performance; to obtain new measurements of ionospheric ion drift and temperature.