Comparison of Meteoroid Flux Models for Near Earth SpaceOver the last decade several new models for the sporadic interplanetary meteoroid flux have been developed. These include the Meteoroid Engineering Model (MEM), the Divine-Staubach model and the Interplanetary Meteoroid Engineering Model (IMEM). They typically cover mass ranges from 10-12 g (or lower) to 1 g and are applicable for model specific sun distance ranges between 0.2 A.U. and 10 A.U. Near 1 A.U. averaged fluxes (over direction and velocities) for all these models are tuned to the well established interplanetary model by Gr?n et. al. However, in many respects these models differ considerably. Examples are the velocity and directional distributions and the assumed meteoroid sources. In this paper flux predictions by the various models to Earth orbiting spacecraft are compared. Main differences are presented and analysed. The persisting differences even for near Earth space can be seen as surprising in view of the numerous ground based (optical, radar) and in-situ (captured IDPs, in-situ detectors and analysis of retrieved hardware) measurements and simulations. Remaining uncertainties and potential additional studies to overcome the existing model discrepancies are discussed.
Document ID
20070016550
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Drolshagen, G. (European Space Agency. European Space Research and Technology Center, ESTEC Noordwijk, Netherlands)
Liou, J.-C. (NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Dikarev, V. (Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Solar System Research Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany)
Landgraf, M. (European Space Agency. European Space Operations Center Darmstadt, Germany)
Krag, H. (European Space Agency. European Space Operations Center Darmstadt, Germany)
Kuiper, W. (European Space Agency. European Space Research and Technology Center, ESTEC Noordwijk, Netherlands)