Electron Losses and Fields Investigation (ELFIN) is a nanosatellite developed by University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). ELFIN is a 3U+ CubeSat designed to study space weather, specifically, the loss of relativistic electrons in the radiation belts. ELFIN was a participant in the Air Force Research Lab's University Nanosatellite Program and is currently funded by NASA's Low Cost Access to Space program and the National Science Foundation.[1]
ELFIN carries a fluxgate magnetometer as well as two energetic particle detectors: one for ions and one for electrons and aims to understand the loss mechanisms of relativistic "killer" electrons by providing pitch angle resolved energetic particle measurements. The principal investigator of the project is Vassilis Angelopoulos.