Low-weight plasma instrument to be used in the inner heliosphere

Thomas H. Zurbuchen; George Gloeckler; Jeff C. Cain; S. E. Lasley; W. Shanks

doi:10.1117/12.330260

2 November 1998 Low-weight plasma instrument to be used in the inner heliosphere

Thomas H. Zurbuchen, George Gloeckler, Jeff C. Cain, S. E. Lasley, W. Shanks

Proceedings Volume 3442, Missions to the Sun II; (1998) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.330260
Event: SPIE's International Symposium on Optical Science, Engineering, and Instrumentation, 1998, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

In the proposed Mercury-Messenger mission, a satellite will approach the Sun to a distance of around 0.3 AU. A plasma instrument to be flown on this satellite provides a unique possibility to probe the inner heliosphere in a distance range which has previously only been investigated by the Helios missions. In addition, in situ observations of the low-energy ions in the Mercury magnetosphere can be performed for the first time. In some phase of the orbit pick-up ions from Mercury are also expected to be detected. Because of the tight mass constraints on this mission, a new low-weight plasma instrument FIPS was developed which is particularly suited for this near-solar plasma environment. It is a combination of an electrostatic deflection system and a linear time-of-flight system. Using numerical simulations we demonstrate the properties of this design and discuss possible applications.

Citation Download Citation

Thomas H. Zurbuchen, George Gloeckler, Jeff C. Cain, S. E. Lasley, and W. Shanks "Low-weight plasma instrument to be used in the inner heliosphere", Proc. SPIE 3442, Missions to the Sun II, (2 November 1998); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.330260

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