Daedalus targets to measure the largely unexplored area between Earth's atmosphere and space. Here, intriguing and complex processes govern the deposition, transformation and transport of energy. The aim is to quantify this energy by measuring, for example, effects caused by electrodynamic processes in this region. The concept is based on a mother satellite which carries a suite of instruments along with smaller satellites carrying a subset of instruments that are released into the atmosphere.

The solar wind interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field, forming a magnetosphere. On the night side solar wind stretches the magnetosphere into a long tail. A process called magnetic reconnection opens the magnetic field lines and reconnects them, accelerating particles to high energies. We study this in the magnetotail using a numerical simulation model of the Earth’s magnetosphere. We study the motion of the points where field lines reconnect and the fast flows driven by this process.

Magnetosheath jets are high-velocity plasma structures that are commonly observed within the Earth's magnetosheath. Previously, they have mainly been investigated with spacecraft observations, which do not allow us to infer their spatial sizes, temporal evolution, or origin. This paper shows for the first time their dimensions, evolution, and origins within a simulation whose dimensions are directly comparable to the Earth's magnetosphere. The results are compared to previous observations.

We use the Vlasiator code to study the characteristics of transient structures that exist in the Earth's foreshock, i.e. upstream of the bow shock. The structures are cavitons and spontaneous hot flow anomalies (SHFAs). These transients can interact with the bow shock. We study the changes the shock suffers via this interaction. We also investigate ion distributions associated with the cavitons and SHFAs. A very important result is that the arrival of multiple SHFAs results in shock erosion.

The Earth's magnetic field is shaped by the solar wind. On the dayside the field is compressed and on the nightside it is stretched as a long tail. The tail has been observed to occasionally undergo flapping motions, but the origin of these motions is not understood. We study the flapping using a numerical simulation of the near-Earth space. We present a possible explanation for how the flapping could be initiated by a passing disturbance and then maintained as a standing wave.

We present a comprehensive statistical analysis of mirror mode waves and the properties of their plasma surroundings in sheath regions driven by interplanetary coronal mass ejection (ICME) to deepen our understanding of these geo-effective plasma environments. The results imply that mirror modes are common structures in ICME sheaths and occur almost exclusively as dip-like structures and in mirror stable stable plasma.

Much like solar flares, substorms occurring within the Earth's magnetic domain are explosive events that cause vivid auroral displays. A decades-long debate exists to explain the substorm onset. We devise a simulation encompassing the entire near-Earth space and demonstrate that detailed modelling of magnetic reconnection explains the central substorm observations. Our results help to understand the unpredictable substorm process, which will significantly improve space weather forecasts.

We have simulated the interaction of the solar wind – the charged particles and magnetic fields emitted by the Sun into space – with the magnetic field of the Earth. The solar wind flows supersonically and creates a shock when it encounters the obstacle formed by the geomagnetic field. We have identified a new chain of events which causes phenomena in the downstream region to eventually cause perturbations at the shock and even upstream. This is confirmed by ground and satellite observations.

Ion densities measured on the dawn-side magnetosheath flank were higher than the dusk-flank. The asymmetry was measured close to the magnetopause, but it became more ambiguous in the central magnetosheath. We show that the asymmetry was at its maximum at the 2009 solar minimum (~ 20 %), but then decreased in the rising stage of the next solar cycle (< 5 %). These results could impact plasma transport processes which are dependent on local magnetopause conditions such as Kelvin Helmholtz Instability.

The solar wind electric sail (E-sail) is a new way to move in the solar system efficiently without consuming propellant. The E-sail taps momentum from the solar wind by long, charged and centrifugally stretched tethers. Here we develop a new type of simulation for predicting E-sail thrust. The new simulation involves some approximations, but is robust and executes fast on a computer. The results are in good agreement with an earlier theoretical prediction. The E-sail thrust seems strong.

Electron concentrations observed by EISCAT radars can be reasonable well represented using AIMOS v1.2 satellite-data-based ionization model and SIC D-region ion chemistry model. SIC-EISCAT difference varies from event to event, probably because the statistical nature of AIMOS ionization is not capturing all the spatio-temporal fine structure of electron precipitation. Below 90km, AIMOS overestimates electron ionization because of proton contamination of the satellite electron detectors.