A Review on CubeSat Missions for Ionospheric Science
Cristiana Francisco, Mário Ricardo Henriques, Susana Barbosa
Abstract
The ionosphere is a fundamental component of the Earth’s atmosphere, impacting human activities such as communication transmissions, navigation systems, satellite functions, power network systems, and natural gas pipelines, even endangering human life or health. As technology moves forward, understanding the impact of the ionosphere on our daily lives becomes increasingly important. CubeSats are a promising way to increase understanding of this important atmospheric layer. This paper reviews the state of the art of CubeSat missions designed for ionospheric studies. Their main instrumentation payload and orbits are also analyzed from the point of view of their importance for the missions. It also focuses on the importance of data and metadata, and makes an approach to the aspects that need to be improved.