First mesospheric in-situ measurement in Iran using sounding rockets and plasma impedance probe (PIP)

This paper reports on the progress for the first development of rocket probe for in-situ measurement of ionospheric plasma parameters in Iran. The designed probe known as Plasma Impedance Probe (PIP) will be used to measure the electron density, electron-neutral collision frequency, background magnetic field, and temperature in the mesospheric and in the altitude range of 70 km to 150 km. This paper presents a review of the current plan on design, analysis, fabrication and laboratory tests of the PIP. Specifically, the theoretical calculations as well as numerical simulations on the characteristics of the PIP is provided and discussed. The effect of several background parameters in the ionospheric region on the radiation characteristics of the immersed antenna in the background plasma is presented. The possible reduction technique in order to analyze the observational data and derive background ionospheric parameters is provided. The requirements for the implementation of the designed probe are investigated. The possible applications of the PIP in complex plasma are introduced.