First Results from the Dissipation Electrostatic Analyzer

The Dissipation sounding rocket mission launched successfully on November 8th, 2023 from Poker Flat, Alaska into an active aurora. Dissipation's science object was to study the thermospheric response, in terms of changes in neutral composition, densities, temperature, and flow dynamics, to Joule heating as a function of external forcing using in situ measurements. An electrostatic analyzer (ESA) was included in the instrument suite to measure the electron distributions above and within the aurora, which are then used to determine the energy input into the aurora from precipitating electrons. These measurements are used to calculate the ionization rate from the precipitating electrons, a significant source for the Joule heating rate. Using an electron transport model, the electron fluxes encountered during the flight will be used to determine the fluxes incident on the top of the thermosphere. The model will also be used to predict the heating rate of the neutral atmosphere done by the precipitating electrons, which can then be compared to in situ measurements taken by the onboard neutral instrumentation. Initial electron distributions and results measured by the ESA will be presented and discussed.