CANVAS

CANVAS is a cubesat mission designed to explore the climatology of Very Low Frequency (VLF) waves generated by terrestrial lightning strikes. Lightning VLF waves propagate out of the upper levels of Earth’s atmosphere (including the ionosphere and the magnetosphere), sending electromagnetic energy into the inner radiation belt. CANVAS will be able to determine the power and directionality of lightning-generated VLF waves with its two instruments. University of Colorado Boulder graduate and undergraduate students are involved to every aspect of CANVAS, including the design, construction, testing, and eventual on-orbit operation, data analysis, and publication of scientific results.