The Gridded Retarding Ion Drift Sensor (GRIDS) is a small sensor that will fly on the 6 U petitSat CubeSat. It is designed to measure the three-dimensional plasma drift velocity vector in the Earth's ionosphere. The GRIDS also supplies information about the ion temperature, ion density, and the ratio of light to heavy ions present in the ionospheric plasma. It utilizes well-proven techniques that have been successfully validated by similar instruments on larger satellite missions while meeting CubeSat-compatible requirements for low mass, size, and power consumption. GRIDS performs the functions of a Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) and an Ion Drift Meter (IDM) by combining the features of both types of instruments in a single package. The sensor alternates RPA and IDM measurements to produce the full set of measurement parameters listed above. On the petitSat mission, GRIDS will help identify and characterize a phenomenon known as plasma blobs (or enhancements).

中文翻译：

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用于 petitSat cubeSat 任务的网格延迟离子漂移传感器

网格延迟离子漂移传感器 (GRIDS) 是一种小型传感器，将在 6 U petitSat CubeSat 上飞行。它旨在测量地球电离层中的三维等离子体漂移速度矢量。GRIDS 还提供有关离子温度、离子密度以及电离层等离子体中存在的轻离子与重离子之比的信息。它利用经过充分验证的技术，这些技术已被类似仪器在更大的卫星任务中成功验证，同时满足与 CubeSat 兼容的低质量、尺寸和功耗要求。GRIDS 通过将两种类型仪器的功能组合在一个包中来执行延迟电位分析仪 (RPA) 和离子漂移计 (IDM) 的功能。传感器交替进行 RPA 和 IDM 测量，以产生上面列出的全套测量参数。在 petitSat 任务中，GRIDS 将帮助识别和表征一种称为等离子体斑点（或增强）的现象。