1,3,1,6,9,1,2,- 1Department of Physics, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada (imann@ualberta.ca)
- 2Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
- 3Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada,
- 4Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada,
- 5UTIAS, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,
- 6Faculty of Science and Technology, Athabasca University, Athabasca, AB, Canada
- 7Department of Physics and Engineering Physics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
- 8Department of Physics, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, NB, Canada
- 9Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- 10Aerospace Engineering Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, United States
This presentation provides an overview of the latest designs and development of the RADiation Impacts on Climate and Atmospheric Loss Satellite (RADICALS) mission, and which will launch in October 2027. The RADICALS is a Canadian small satellite mission with a payload designed to characterise energetic particle precipitation (EPP), to assess the physical mechanisms which cause it, and investigate the related impacts on the Earth’s atmosphere. EPP plays a critical role in altering atmospheric chemistry, particularly through the production of NOx and HOx, which catalytically destroy ozone in the middle atmosphere. The RADICALS will focus on measuring the energy input from precipitating energetic particles into the atmosphere, shedding new light on the connection between space weather and climate. Operating in a polar orbit, the RADICALS payload contains dual High Energy Particle Telescope (HEPT) suites (each comprising high and low energy telescopes, and a high temporal resolution scintillator), and dual X-Ray Imager (XRI) suites. When mounted on the spinning RADICALS spacecraft they will provide pitch angle distributions of trapped radiation belt electrons and solar energetic protons, twice per spin, as well as the associated Bremsstrahlung X-rays from atmospheric interactions. The mission's unique back-to-back HEPT suite design will measure both down-going and up-going particles simultaneously, while the XRI will remotely sense particle precipitation via X-ray emissions as well as monitoring lower energy electrons as a secondary product. The payload also includes a pair of boom-mounted fluxgate magnetometers and a 3-axis and search coil magnetometer to substantiate particle measurements with the local magnetic wave activity. By resolving the electron loss cone and quantifying the energy flux of precipitating particles, RADICALS will provide essential data for understanding how space radiation influences atmospheric chemistry, particularly during geomagnetic storms.
How to cite: Mann, I., Cully, C., Fedosejevs, R., Knudsen, S., Milling, D., Enno, G., Lipsett, M., Zee, R., Rankin, R., Connors, M., McWilliams, K., Ward, W., Fiori, R., Olifer, L., Ozeke, L., Marshall, R., Cullen, D., Barona, D., Howarth, A., and Yau, A.: Investigating Space Radiation and Atmospheric Climate Impacts with the Canadian RADICALS Mission, EGU General Assembly 2026, Vienna, Austria, 3–8 May 2026, EGU26-15926, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu26-15926, 2026.
