The Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instruments (JEDI) on the Juno Jupiter polar-orbiting, atmosphere-skimming, mission to Jupiter will coordinate with the several other space physics instruments ...on the Juno spacecraft to characterize and understand the space environment of Jupiter’s polar regions, and specifically to understand the generation of Jupiter’s powerful aurora. JEDI comprises 3 nearly-identical instruments and measures at minimum the energy, angle, and ion composition distributions of ions with energies from H:20 keV and O: 50 keV to >1 MeV, and the energy and angle distribution of electrons from <40 to >500 keV. Each JEDI instrument uses microchannel plates (MCP) and thin foils to measure the times of flight (TOF) of incoming ions and the pulse height associated with the interaction of ions with the foils, and it uses solid state detectors (SSD’s) to measure the total energy (
E
) of both the ions and the electrons. The MCP anodes and the SSD arrays are configured to determine the directions of arrivals of the incoming charged particles. The instruments also use fast triple coincidence and optimum shielding to suppress penetrating background radiation and incoming UV foreground. Here we describe the science objectives of JEDI, the science and measurement requirements, the challenges that the JEDI team had in meeting these requirements, the design and operation of the JEDI instruments, their calibrated performances, the JEDI inflight and ground operations, and the initial measurements of the JEDI instruments in interplanetary space following the Juno launch on 5 August 2011. Juno will begin its prime science operations, comprising 32 orbits with dimensions 1.1×40 RJ, in mid-2016.
This paper describes the science motivation, measurement objectives, performance requirements, detailed design, approach and implementation, and calibration of the four Hot Plasma Composition ...Analyzers (HPCA) for the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. The HPCA is based entirely on electrostatic optics combining an electrostatic energy analyzer with a carbon-foil based time-of-flight analyzer. In order to fulfill mission requirements, the HPCA incorporates three unique technologies that give it very wide dynamic range capabilities essential to measuring minor ion species in the presence of extremely high proton fluxes found in the region of magnetopause reconnection. Dynamic range is controlled primarily by a novel radio frequency system analogous to an RF mass spectrometer. The RF, in combination with capabilities for high TOF event processing rates and high current micro-channel plates, ensures the dynamic range and sensitivity needed for accurate measurements of ion fluxes between ∼1 eV and 40 keV that are expected in the region of reconnection events. A third technology enhances mass resolution in the presence of high proton flux.
In order to calibrate the four HPCA instruments we have developed a unique ion calibration system. The system delivers a multi-species beam resolved to
M
/Δ
M
∼100 and current densities between 0.05 and 200 pA/cm
2
with a stability of ±5 %. The entire system is controlled by a dedicated computer synchronized with the HPCA ground support equipment. This approach results not only in accurate calibration but also in a comprehensive set of coordinated instrument and auxiliary data that makes analysis straightforward and ensures archival of all relevant data.
The Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE) on the two Van Allen Probes spacecraft is the magnetosphere ring current instrument that will provide data for answering the three ...over-arching questions for the Van Allen Probes Program: RBSPICE will determine “how space weather creates the storm-time ring current around Earth, how that ring current supplies and supports the creation of the radiation belt populations,” and how the ring current is involved in radiation belt losses. RBSPICE is a time-of-flight versus total energy instrument that measures ions over the energy range from ∼20 keV to ∼1 MeV. RBSPICE will also measure electrons over the energy range ∼25 keV to ∼1 MeV in order to provide instrument background information in the radiation belts. A description of the instrument and its data products are provided in this chapter.
The Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) Investigation is one of 5 fields-and-particles investigations on the Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission. MMS comprises 4 spacecraft flying in close ...formation in highly elliptical, near-Earth-equatorial orbits targeting understanding of the fundamental physics of the important physical process called magnetic reconnection using Earth’s magnetosphere as a plasma laboratory. EPD comprises two sensor types, the Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS) with one instrument on each of the 4 spacecraft, and the Fly’s Eye Energetic Particle Spectrometer (FEEPS) with 2 instruments on each of the 4 spacecraft. EIS measures energetic ion energy, angle and elemental compositional distributions from a required low energy limit of 20 keV for protons and 45 keV for oxygen ions, up to >0.5 MeV (with capabilities to measure up to >1 MeV). FEEPS measures instantaneous all sky images of energetic electrons from 25 keV to >0.5 MeV, and also measures total ion energy distributions from 45 keV to >0.5 MeV to be used in conjunction with EIS to measure all sky ion distributions. In this report we describe the EPD investigation and the details of the EIS sensor. Specifically we describe EPD-level science objectives, the science and measurement requirements, and the challenges that the EPD team had in meeting these requirements. Here we also describe the design and operation of the EIS instruments, their calibrated performances, and the EIS in-flight and ground operations. Blake et al. (The Flys Eye Energetic Particle Spectrometer (FEEPS) contribution to the Energetic Particle Detector (EPD) investigation of the Magnetospheric Magnetoscale (MMS) Mission,
this issue
) describe the design and operation of the FEEPS instruments, their calibrated performances, and the FEEPS in-flight and ground operations. The MMS spacecraft will launch in early 2015, and over its 2-year mission will provide comprehensive measurements of magnetic reconnection at Earth’s magnetopause during the 18 months that comprise orbital phase 1, and magnetic reconnection within Earth’s magnetotail during the about 6 months that comprise orbital phase 2.
The Miniaturized Electron pRoton Telescope, MERiT, is a low‐mass, low‐power, compact instrument using an innovative combination of particle detectors, sensor electronics, and onboard processing. ...MERiT is flying on the Compact Radiation belt Explorer, CeREs, a 3U CubeSat launched into a low earth orbit of 500‐km altitude and inclination of 85° on 16 December 2018. The primary and secondary science goals of CeREs are to investigate electron microbursts and to study solar particles. MERiT comprises a stack of solid state detectors (SSD) behind space facing avalanche photo diodes (APDs) surrounded by W‐Al shielding to reduce side‐penetrating particle background. The APD‐SSD combination enables measurement of electrons from 5 to 200 keV and 1 to 8 MeV; protons from 200–400 keV and 7–100 MeV in differential channels with energy resolution ΔE/E≈30% for both electrons and protons. MERiT measures microbursts with a high time resolution ranging from 4 to 16 ms and solar particles with a cadence of 1 s. MERiT energy channels and cadences are software configurable via algorithms and lookup tables residing on a field‐programmable gate array. The lookup tables can be changed via ground commands. MERiT geometry factor is 31 sq.cm‐sr and optimized to measure microbursts with the instrument viewing the local zenith in orbit. MERiT enables investigation of dynamical processes of radiation belt electron energization and loss, solar electron and proton transport, and their access to the Earth's polar caps. We describe the MERiT sensor design, calibration, operational modes, data products, and science goals.
The ESA-JAXA BepiColombo mission to Mercury will provide simultaneous
measurements from two spacecraft, offering an unprecedented opportunity to investigate
magnetospheric and exospheric particle ...dynamics at Mercury as well as their interactions
with solar wind, solar radiation, and interplanetary dust. The particle instrument suite SERENA
(Search for Exospheric Refilling and Emitted Natural Abundances) is flying in space
on-board the BepiColombo Mercury Planetary Orbiter (MPO) and is the only instrument for
ion and neutral particle detection aboard the MPO. It comprises four independent sensors:
ELENA for neutral particle flow detection, Strofio for neutral gas detection, PICAM for
planetary ions observations, and MIPA, mostly for solar wind ion measurements. SERENA
is managed by a System Control Unit located inside the ELENA box. In the present paper
the scientific goals of this suite are described, and then the four units are detailed, as well
as their major features and calibration results. Finally, the SERENA operational activities
are shown during the orbital path around Mercury, with also some reference to the activities
planned during the long cruise phase.
An 11-bit time-to-digital converter (TDC) with high time resolution implemented in CMOS VLSI is presented. The TDC operates with a wide and clock-adjustable resolution of LSB = 50 ps to 1 ns, and ...with good power supply, temperature, and environmental effects compensation. The dead time of the measurement is as low as 0.5 /spl mu/s and the event rate can be as high as 1 MEvents/s. The power dissipation is a function of event rate and clock frequency; the TDC dissipates <10 mW at an event rate of 100 kEvents/s and LSB=100 ps. The TDC was incorporated in a complete time-of-flight (TOF) system on a chip that in addition included front-end analog signal processing. The TOF chip is already flying onboard the HENA (High Energy Neutral Atoms) instrument of the IMAGE NASA mission, launched in 2000, and is part of many other instruments such as particles, X-ray, and the laser altimeter of the Messenger spacecraft.
Energetic charged particle detectors characterize a portion of the plasma distribution function that plays critical roles in some physical processes, from carrying the currents in planetary ring ...currents to weathering the surfaces of planetary objects. For several low-resource missions in the past, the need was recognized for a low-resource but highly capable, mass-species-discriminating energetic particle sensor that could also obtain angular distributions without motors or mechanical articulation. This need led to the development of a compact Energetic Particle Detector (EPD), known as the "Puck" EPD (short for hockey puck), that is capable of determining the flux, angular distribution, and composition of incident ions between an energy range of approximately 10 kiloelectronvolts to several megaelectronvolts. This sensor makes simultaneous angular measurements of electron fluxes from the tens of kiloelectronvolts to about 1 megaelectronvolt. The same measurements can be extended down to approximately 1 kiloelectronvolt per nucleon,with some composition ambiguity. These sensors have a proven flight heritage record that includes missions such as MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) and New Horizons, with multiple sensors on each of Juno, Van Allen Probes, and Magnetospheric Multiscale. In this review paper we discuss the Puck EPD design, its heritage, unexpected results from these past missions and future advancements. We also discuss high-voltage anomalies that are thought to be associated with the use of curved foils, which is a new foil manufacturing processes utilized on recent Puck EPD designs. Finally, we discuss the important role Puck EPDs can potentially play in upcoming missions.
Dispersionless injections are a ubiquitous characteristic of substorms. They are defined as simultaneous enhancements in the fluxes of electrons and ions of different energies, and they are often ...observed near or inside geosynchronous orbit. We model dispersionless electron injections by considering the interaction of an earthward propagating electromagnetic pulse with the preexisting electron population. Such simulations have been performed previously Li et al., 1993, 1998; however, they assumed a constant propagation velocity for the transient fields. Observations have shown that substorm injections and associated magnetic signatures do not propagate at constant velocities, but rather slow down as they approach the inner magnetosphere. Between 4.5 and 6.6 RE the injection propagation speeds reach surprisingly low values, of the order of 24 km/s. Nonetheless, the injections still remain dispersionless Reeves et al., 1996. In our simulation we vary the pulse speed with the radial distance from the Earth to match the reported propagation speeds and demonstrate that dispersionless injections are achievable under such low propagation speeds. In particular, we simulate the dispersionless injections of 12 February 1991 measured at two radially displaced spacecraft (CRRES and LANL 1990–095), when they were both around local midnight.
Jupiter magnetospheric interactions and surface composition, both important to subsurface ocean detection for the Galilean icy moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto, can be measured using plasma ion ...mass spectrometry on either an orbiting spacecraft or one designed for multiple flybys of these moons. Detection of emergent oceanic materials at the Europa surface is more likely than at Ganymede and Callisto. A key challenge is to resolve potential intrinsic Europan materials from the space weathering patina of iogenic species implanted onto the sensible surface by magnetospheric interactions. Species-resolved measurements of pickup ion currents are also critical to extraction of oceanic induced magnetic fields from magnetospheric interaction background dominated by these currents. In general the chemical astrobiological potential of Europa should be determined through the combination of surface, ionospheric, and pickup ion composition measurements. The requisite Ion Mass Spectrometer (IMS) for these measurements would need to work in the high radiation environment of Jupiter's magnetosphere between the orbits of Europa and Ganymede, and beyond. A 3D hybrid model of the moon-magnetosphere interaction is also needed to construct a global model of the electric and magnetic fields, and the plasma environment, around Europa. Europa's ionosphere is probably usually dominated by hot pickup ions with 100–1000eV temperatures, excursions to a “classical” cold ionosphere likely being infrequent. A field aligned ionospheric wind driven by the electron polarization electric field should arise and be measurable.
► Europa's interaction with Jovian magnetosphere and Ocean-Ionosphere Currents. ► Plasma ion composition measurements at Europa: Help answer habitability questions. ► To answer habitability minor ion detection at ppm level required at Europa. ► Habitability requires separating exogenic and endogenic surface composition sources.
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