MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/: Russia conducts a space experiment on basic research of electromagnetic phenomena in the Earth's atmosphere at the International Space Station in cooperation with Italy, and plans to conduct three more experiments in cooperation with Hungary, Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) Executive Director for Science and Long-Term Programs Alexander Bloshenko said.
"We have a very interesting experiment […] which maps the night atmosphere in near ultraviolet range. Such phenomena could only be observed from the orbit, because this radiation range is efficiently absorbed by the atmosphere. This experiment is being conducted together with the Italian scientists," Bloshenko said.
He noted that the experiment studies the so-called transient atmospheric phenomena — high energy electromagnetic flashes, not caused by storms, which illuminate tens and hundreds of kilometers. Their mechanism is still not described in full yet.
The experiment also has an applied side, the specialist said. "We also seek to detect micro-meteorites to provide security for high-altitude flights," Bloshenko stated.
Three projects with Hungary
The executive director noted that "three joint applied science experiments at the ISS in cooperation with Hungary are in the works," adding that on the part of his country the Russian Academy of Science’s Space Research Institute is engaged in the preparations.
The "Chibis-AI" experiment seeks to research high-altitude lightning in the Earth’s atmosphere and ionosphere using the Chibis micro-satellite. About 30 years ago, researchers discovered gamma rays during lightning, which came as a total surprise for the scientists. The experiment’s results are supposed to shed light on the lightning’s nature and reveal the mechanism behind these electric discharges. The experiment is scheduled for 2022-2023. Hungary must develop a magnetic wave complex as part of this experiment.
The "Trabant" experiment seeks to monitor the surrounding space and ionosphere irregularities via two electromagnetically clean microsatellites. It is scheduled for 2022-2024, and its results will contribute to the refined model of the Earth’s ionosphere to increase precision of the GLONASS satellite navigation system. Hungary will develop several instruments for this experiment.
The third experiment, "Obstanovka-2nd Stage" will study how super large spacecrafts, such as the International Space Station, interact with the Earth’s ionosphere.
