Leading in Space: Sophia Rodrigues Laranja

Sophia Rodrigues Laranja came to Utah State University with a dream in mind — to study the Earth’s ionosphere and all the phenomena that occurs. Her chance to do so? The SPORT Satellite.

Originally from Rio De Janeiro, Laranja did her undergraduate research at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, one of USU’s partner institutions. Her advisor at ITA spent time working on SPORT, recruiting Laranja as a doctoral student to directly engage with the project's data at the time. Laranja was ecstatic.

“When I found out that going to USU would be possible, I was very happy,” she said. “Being able to conduct research at an international level motivated me to come here, as I would be working with excellent and renowned researchers.”

At USU, Laranja would come to know Charles Swenson, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Bela Fejer, a professor of physics at USU, very well, as they were crucial parts of the SPORT satellite’s initial launch in November 2022. The SPORT satellite, which stands for Scintillation Prediction Observation Research Task, was sent into space with the goal of collecting data to understand why plasma bubbles form in the ionosphere above Brazil.

Under Swenson and Fejer, Laranja was tasked with observing data from satellite instruments to investigate the ionosphere. However, the data did not come out as expected due to a flaw with SPORT, so the group turned to other options. Her first assignment was to use ion density data from the Langmuir probe, the floating potential measurement unit aboard the international space station, to develop a climatology of the ionosphere at low and midlatitudes.

“We used 12 years of data in different phases of the solar cycle, which allowed us to differentiate the characteristics of the ionosphere in these regions at low and medium solar flux,” Laranja said. “We also investigated the data across seasons, which allowed us to do a seasonal investigation.”

Laranja’s current project looks at ion drift velocity data measured by the C/NOFS satellite launched in 2008. She is also observing data from the Jicamarca Radio Observatory in Peru, which is where the altitudinal variation of the ionosphere sits. This means that plasma irregularities can clearly be observed as well as the effects on the ionospheric density at different altitudes in the region.

This accumulation of data allows researchers to study the effect of geomagnetic storms on the ionosphere of low latitudes, which is when there is greater activity on the sun and its particles reach the Earth’s magnetosphere, significantly affecting the entire planet's ionosphere.

“The end goal is to understand how disturbed electric fields in the magnetosphere affect the low-latitude ionosphere,” said Laranja. “I’ve really enjoyed my research and the time I’ve spent with Dr. Swenson and Dr. Fejer.”

Outside of research, Laranja spends her time hiking and enjoying all the beautiful nature Utah has to offer. She will graduate August 2024.

###

Writer: Sydney Dahle, sydney.dahle@usu.edu, 435-797-7512

Contact: Sophia Rodrigues Laranja, sophialaranjaa@gmail.com