Space and planetary research at Lancaster University

This consolidated supports a programme of STFC-funded research into the physics of various plasma environments within our solar system. The programme is thus divided into five distinct projects, the aims of which are as follows:

- Project 1 will use spacecraft measurements to identify, model and explain the occurrence of flows in the Earth's magnetosphere whose directions disagree with expectations based on our current understanding of large-scale magnetospheric dynamics.

- Project 2 will use interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) and statistical modelling techniques appropriate to extreme values to quantify the extremes of IMF strength observed at the Earth and, based on two decades of observations, estimate the expected return levels and return periods over longer timescales.

- Project 3 will explore how intrinsic asymmetries in the magnetosphere-ionosphere-thermosphere coupled system affect the deposition and distribution of auroral heat throughout Jupiter's thermosphere and quantify the heat deposited directly in the mid-to-equatorial latitude thermosphere via coupling with localised stratospheric storms.

- Project 4 will investigate how remote sensing observations can reveal the distribution and transport of plasma within the magnetospheres of Saturn and Jupiter. To achieve this, we will exploit the full dataset of imagery of Saturn's auroras by the Hubble Space Telescope and a suite of instruments on board the Cassini spacecraft to determine the azimuthal and radial plasma flows and investigate their role in plasma circulation.

- Project 5 will utilise Voyager 2 flyby data in order to obtain better constraints on the internal magnetic fields, and hence interiors, of Uranus and Neptune. The motivation for this is primarily to enable a better understanding of the interiors of these planets.

The main beneficiaries of this research will be:

Space Weather stakeholders: As awareness of the societal and economic impact of space weather grows, so do the demands to develop operational forecast models to enable infrastructure operators to manage exposure to the space weather hazards and mitigate the risks of system failure. The outputs of the programme work will be crucial to current international efforts in understanding the motion of energy and mass in the magnetosphere. The applicants (and wider SPP group) have an excellent track record of engagement with space weather research, industry and high-level government stakeholders and will exploit established knowledge exchange routes to maximize the impact of our research outputs in these groups.

Schools students and the public: SPP researchers have a strong track-record of engaging with non-specialist audiences (the public, school audiences, the media and policy-makers). Lancaster University is located in the centre of the North West, the third most populous of the UK's nine official regions. Eight of the twenty most deprived local authority areas are located in the North West. Secondary school league tables from the region show that less than 30% of disadvantaged pupils achieved 5+ A*-C GCSEs, compared with 69-53% in the top five authorities in the UK. The outreach programme in the Physics Department plays an important role in the North West in reversing this inequality and includes in-school activities by the applicants, physics roadshows, and on-campus activities including residential programmes, work experience, and Masterclasses for years 12 and 13. These activities are partly supported by the Ogden Trust and the Lancaster University Widening Participation office. To expand and supplement these activities, the applicants have recently purchased a portable inflatable planetarium, named LUniverse, with funding provided by Lancaster University and STFC. The addition of LUniverse to our public engagement portfolio will lead to engagement with different audiences beyond the department's existing program; it will also involve STFC science supported by this Consolidated Grant application. Furthermore, the planetarium project is part of STFC's Wonder Initiative, which particularly focuses on engaging children aged 8-14, and their families and carers, from the 40% most socioeconomically deprived areas in the UK, and we are particularly targeting audiences in this bracket.