EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR THE NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SPACE PLASMAS

The Cluster mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) will allow, for the first time three-dimensional measurements in key regions of the Earth's magnetosphere to be carried out. The European Numerical Simulation Network (ENSN) aims at providing a theoretical support to the mission. We describe the achievements of the ENSN during its first period of activity 1991–1994, during which the network was funded by the European Union. In particular, the ENSN has set up (i) thematic Working Groups on the prime scientific goals of the mission, (ii) a code development Working Group to develop numerical simulation codes specifically adapted to studying magnetospheric boundaries and the corresponding scale mixing, and (iii) software models of Cluster instruments to test in a numerical simulation what the set of four instruments will measure.     

OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAGNETOSPHERIC RESEARCH WITH COORDINATED CLUSTER AND GROUND-BASED OBSERVATIONS

ESA's first multi-satellite mission Cluster is unique in its concept of 4 satellites orbiting in controlled formations. This will give an unprecedented opportunity to study structure and dynamics of the magnetosphere. In this paper we discuss ways in which ground-based remote-sensing observations of the ionosphere can be used to support the multipoint in-situ satellite measurements. There are a very large number of potentially useful configurations between the satellites and any one ground-based observatory; however, the number of ideal occurrences for any one configuration is low. Many of the ground-based instruments cannot operate continuously and Cluster will take data only for a part of each orbit, depending on how much high-resolution (burst-mode') data are acquired. In addition, there are a great many instrument modes and the formation, size and shape of the cluster of the four satellites to consider. These circumstances create a clear and pressing need for careful planning to ensure that the scientific return from Cluster is maximised by additional coordinated ground-based observations. For this reason, the European Space Agency (ESA) established a working group to coordinate the observations on the ground with Cluster. We will give a number of examples how the combined spacecraft and ground-based observations can address outstanding questions in magnetospheric physics. An online computer tool has been prepared to allow for the planning of conjunctions and advantageous constellations between the Cluster spacecraft and individual or combined ground-based systems. During the mission a ground-based database containing index and summary data will help to identify interesting datasets and allow to select intervals for coordinated studies. We illustrate the philosophy of our approach, using a few important examples of the many possible configurations between the satellite and the ground-based instruments.     

The infrared space observatory (ISO)

The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), a fully approved and funded project of the European Space Agency (ESA), is an astronomical satellite, which will operate at wavelengths from 2.5–240 m. ISO will provide astronomers with a unique facility of unprecedented sensitivity for a detailed exploration of the universe ranging from objects in the solar system right out to distant extragalactic sources. The satellite essentially consists of a large cryostat containing at launch over 2000 litres of superfluid helium to maintain the Ritchey-Chrétien telescope, the scientific instruments and the optical baffles at temperatures between 2 K and 8 K. The telescope has a 60-cm diameter primary mirror and is diffraction-limited at a wavelength of 5 m. A pointing accuracy of a few arc seconds is provided by a three-axis-stabilisation system consisting of reaction wheels, gyros and optical sensors. ISO's instrument complement consists of four instruments, namely: an imaging photo-polarimeter (2.5–240 m), a camera (2.5–17 m), a short wavelength spectrometer (3–45 m) and a long wavelength spectrometer (43–196 m). These instruments are being built by international consortia of scientific institutes and have been delivered to ESA for in-orbit operations. ISO will be launched in September 1995 by an Ariane 4 into an elliptical orbit (apogee 70000 km and perigee 1000 km) and will be operational for at least 18 months. In keeping with ISO's role as an observatory, the majority of its observing time is being made available to the general astronomical community via a Call for Observing Proposals.     

The Time-of-Flight Energy,Angle, Mass Spectrograph (Teams) Experiment for Fast

The Time-of-flight Energy Angle Mass Spectrograph (TEAMS) is being flown on the FAST Small Explorer mission to measure the 3-dimensional distribution function of the major ion species present in the lower magnetosphere. The instrument is similar to time-of-flight plasma analyzer systems that have been designed and planned for flight as CODIF (COmposition and DIstribution Function analyzer) on the four European Space Agency Cluster-II spacecraft and, as ESIC (Equator-S Ion Composition instrument) on Equator-S. This instrument allows the 3-dimensional distribution functions of individual ion species to be determined within spin period (2.5 s). Two-dimensional distributions are measured in 80 ms. These capabilities are crucial for the study of selective energization processes in the auroral regions of the magnetosphere. The design, operational characteristics, and test and calibration results for this instrument are presented. The sensor consists of a toroidal top-hat electrostatic analyzer with instantaneous acceptance of ions over 360° in polar angle. After post-acceleration of the incoming ions by up to 25 kV, a time-of-flight mass spectrograph discriminates the individual species. It has been demonstrated through calibration that the instrument can easily separate H⁺, He²⁺, He⁺, O⁺ and, for energies after post-acceleration of > 20 keV, even O₂ ⁺ molecules. On-board mass discrimination and the internal accumulation of several distinct data quantities combined with the spacecraft's flexible telemetry formatting allow for instrument data rates from 7.8 kb s^–1 to 315 kb s^–1 to be telemetered to ground through the FAST centralized Instrument Data Processor.     

GRIST instrumentation

The Grazing Incidence Solar Telescope (GRIST) as it is being studied by the European Space Agency (ESA) is briefly described: it is an extreme ultraviolet facility for solar observation with 1 arc sec spatial resolution in the wavelength range from 9 to 120 nm.Two examples of focal plane instruments are illustrated: a normal-incidence stigmatic spectrograph using a toroidal grating recorded on an elastically deformed surface and a grazing-incidence stigmatic spectrograph using two toroidal elements: a mirror and a grating. If coupled with suitable array-type photoelectric detectors such spectrographs are capable of recording spectroheliograms in a very short time.Proceedings of the Conference Solar Physics from Space, held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), 11–14 November 1980.     

James Webb Space Telescope: Project Overview

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project at the NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is responsible for the development, launch, flight, and science operations for the telescope. The project is in phase B with its launch scheduled for no earlier than June 2013. The project is a partnership among NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The JWST mission team is fully in place, including major ESA and CSA subcontractors. This provides an overview of the planned JWST science, current architecture focusing on the instrumentation, and mission status, including technology developments, and risks.     

The SOHO concept and its realisation

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) — a space observatory to be placed, in 1995, 1.5 Gm sunward from the Earth in a halo orbit around the L1 Lagrange point — will investigate:

the solar corona, its heating and expansion into the solar wind, by both studying the radiation emerging from the outer solar atmosphere and in-situ solar wind measurements near 1 AU, and

the structure and dynamics of the solar interior by the method of helioseismology.

The science policy evolution leading to this comprehensive observatory concept is described. SOHO's link to the space-plasma-physics mission CLUSTER — devoted to the three-dimensional study of small structures in the magnetosphere — within the Solar Terrestrial Science Programme (STSP) and the embedding of STSP in the much larger International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) Programme are cited as well. The scientific subjects to be addressed by SOHO are introduced, and their current status assessed. Subsequently, the measurements required to advance these subjects are stated quantitatively and the payload, which will actually perform these measurements, is presented. The mission design, comprising spacecraft, orbit, operations and the data and ground systems are described. The special efforts made to obtain a reliable radiometric calibration of the instruments observing the Sun in the extreme-ultraviolet and to achieve a stable sensitivity through extreme cleanliness of spacecraft and instruments are emphasized and substantiated.     

The solar grazing incidence (GRIST) and optical (SOT) telescopes joint accommodation

Some of the problems foreseen for the joint accommodation and operation of the Grazing Incidence Solar Telescope (GRIST) under study by ESA to operate in the extreme ultraviolet region (90 < < 1700 Å), and the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT), developed by NASA to operate in the ultraviolet, optical and infrared region (A > 1100 Å) on a Spacelab mission are described.Proceedings of the Conference Solar Physics from Space, held at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ), 11–14 November 1980.     

The scientific payload of the space-based Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)

The space-based Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a joint venture of ESA and NASA within the frame of the Solar Terrestrial Science Programme (STSP), the first Cornerstone of ESA's long-term programme Space Science — Horizon 2000. The principal scientific objectives of the SOHO mission are: a) a better understanding of the structure and dynamics of the solar interior using techniques of helioseismology, and b) a better insight into the physical processes that form and heat the Sun's corona, maintain it and give rise to its acceleration into the solar wind. To achieve these goals, SOHO carries a payload consisting of 12 sets of complementary instruments which are briefly described here.     

Science Objectives and Rationale for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission

The NASA Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission addresses how populations of high energy charged particles are created, vary, and evolve in space environments, and specifically within Earth’s magnetically trapped radiation belts. RBSP, with a nominal launch date of August 2012, comprises two spacecraft making in situ measurements for at least 2 years in nearly the same highly elliptical, low inclination orbits (1.1×5.8 RE, 10^°). The orbits are slightly different so that 1 spacecraft laps the other spacecraft about every 2.5 months, allowing separation of spatial from temporal effects over spatial scales ranging from ～0.1 to 5 RE. The uniquely comprehensive suite of instruments, identical on the two spacecraft, measures all of the particle (electrons, ions, ion composition), fields (E and B), and wave distributions (d E and d B) that are needed to resolve the most critical science questions. Here we summarize the high level science objectives for the RBSP mission, provide historical background on studies of Earth and planetary radiation belts, present examples of the most compelling scientific mysteries of the radiation belts, present the mission design of the RBSP mission that targets these mysteries and objectives, present the observation and measurement requirements for the mission, and introduce the instrumentation that will deliver these measurements. This paper references and is followed by a number of companion papers that describe the details of the RBSP mission, spacecraft, and instruments.     

Magnetospheric Science Objectives of the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Juno</Emphasis> Mission

In July 2016, NASA’s Juno mission becomes the first spacecraft to enter polar orbit of Jupiter and venture deep into unexplored polar territories of the magnetosphere. Focusing on these polar regions, we review current understanding of the structure and dynamics of the magnetosphere and summarize the outstanding issues. The Juno mission profile involves (a) a several-week approach from the dawn side of Jupiter’s magnetosphere, with an orbit-insertion maneuver on July 6, 2016; (b) a 107-day capture orbit, also on the dawn flank; and (c) a series of thirty 11-day science orbits with the spacecraft flying over Jupiter’s poles and ducking under the radiation belts. We show how Juno’s view of the magnetosphere evolves over the year of science orbits. The Juno spacecraft carries a range of instruments that take particles and fields measurements, remote sensing observations of auroral emissions at UV, visible, IR and radio wavelengths, and detect microwave emission from Jupiter’s radiation belts. We summarize how these Juno measurements address issues of auroral processes, microphysical plasma physics, ionosphere-magnetosphere and satellite-magnetosphere coupling, sources and sinks of plasma, the radiation belts, and the dynamics of the outer magnetosphere. To reach Jupiter, the Juno spacecraft passed close to the Earth on October 9, 2013, gaining the necessary energy to get to Jupiter. The Earth flyby provided an opportunity to test Juno’s instrumentation as well as take scientific data in the terrestrial magnetosphere, in conjunction with ground-based and Earth-orbiting assets.     

EDISON: The next generation infrared space observatory

EDISON, a large-aperture, radiatively-cooled telescope, is proposed as the major international mission to follow the current generation of cryogenically-cooled infrared space telescopes. It is being studied at present as a 2.5–3.5 m mixed radiatively- and mechanically-cooled facility optimized to investigate the wavelength range 3–100+ m. This paper outlines the status of the project, discusses some aspects of a smaller-aperture precursor mission, and describes a portion of the baseline science mission.     

Magnetic field experiment on the Freja satellite

Freja is a Swedish scientific satellite mission to study fine scale auroral processes. Launch was October 6, 1992, piggyback on a Chinese Long March 2C, to the present 600×1750 km, 63° inclination orbit. The JHU/APL provided the Magnetic Field Experiment (MFE), which includes a custom APL-designed Forth, language microprocessor. This approach has led to a truly generic and flexible design with adaptability to differing mission requirements and has resulted in the transfer of significant ground analysis to on-board processing. Special attention has been paid to the analog electronic and digital processing design in an effort to lower system noise levels, verified by inflight data showing unprecedented system noise levels for near-Earth magnetic field measurements, approaching the fluxgate sensor levels. The full dynamic range measurements are of the 3-axis Earth's magnetic field taken at 128 vector samples s^–1 and digitized to 16 bit, resolution, primarily used to evaluate currents and the main magnetic field of the Earth. Additional 3-axis AC channels are bandpass filtered from 1.5 to 128 Hz to remove the main field spin signal, the range is±650 nT. These vector measurements cover Pc waves to ion gyrofrequency magnetic wave signals up to the oxygen gyrofrequency (40 Hz). A separate, seventh channel samples the spin axis sensor with a bandpass filter of 1.5 to 256 Hz, the signal of which is fed to a software FFT. This on-board FFT processing covers the local helium gyrofrequencies (160 Hz) and is plotted in the Freja Summary Plots (FSPs) along with disturbance fields. First data were received in the U.S. October 16 from Kiruna, Sweden via the Internet and SPAN e-mail networks, and were from an orbit a few hours earlier over Greenland and Sweden. Data files and data products, e.g., FSPs generated at the Kiruna ground station, are communicated in a similar manner through an automatic mail distribution system in Stockholm to PIs and various users. Distributed management of spacecraft operations by the science team is also achieved by this advanced communications system.An exciting new discovery of the field-aligned current systems is the high frequency wave power or structure associated with the various large-scale currents. The spin axis AC data and its standard deviation is a measure of this high-frequency component of the Birkeland current regions. The exact response of these channels and filters as well as the physics behind these wave and/or fine-scale current structures accompanying the large-scale currents is being pursued; nevertheless, the association is clear and the results are used for the MFE Birkeland current monitor calculated in the MFE microprocessor. This monitor then sets a trigger when it is greater than a commandable, preset threshold. This event flag can be read by the system unit and used to remotely command all instruments into burst mode data taking and local memory storage. In addition,Freja is equipped with a 400 MHz Low Speed Link transmitter which transmits spacecraft hcusekeeping that can be received with a low cost, portable receiver. These housekeeping data include the MFE auroral zone current detector; this space weather information indicates the location and strength of ionospheric current systems that directly impact communications, power systems, long distance telephone lines and near-Earth satellite operations. The JHU/APL MFE is a joint effort with NASA/GSFC and was co-sponsored by the Office of Naval Research and NASA/Headquarters in cooperation with the Swedish National Space Board and the Swedish Space Corporation.Freja Magnetic Field Experiment Team     

The Toroidal Imaging Mass-Angle Spectrograph (TIMAS) for the polar mission

The science objectives of the Toroidal Imaging Mass-Angle Spectrograph (TIMAS) are to investigate the transfer of solar wind energy and momentum to the magnetosphere, the interaction between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere, the transport processes that distribute plasma and energy throughout the magnetosphere, and the interactions that occur as plasma of different origins and histories mix and interact. In order to meet these objectives the TIMAS instrument measures virtually the full three-dimensional velocity distribution functions of all major magnetospheric ion species with one-half spin period time resolution. The TIMAS is a first-order double focusing (angle and energy), imaging spectrograph that simultaneously measures all mass per charge components from 1 AMU e^–1 to greater than 32 AMU e^–1 over a nearly 360° by 10° instantaneous field-of-view. Mass per charge is dispersed radially on an annular microchannel plate detector and the azimuthal position on the detector is a map of the instantaneous 360° field of view. With the rotation of the spacecraft, the TIMAS sweeps out very nearly a 4 solid angle image in a half spin period. The energy per charge range from 15 eV e^–1 to 32 keV e^–1 is covered in 28 non-contiguous steps spaced approximately logarithmically with adjacent steps separated by about 30%. Each energy step is sampled for approximately 20 ms;14 step (odd or even) energy sweeps are completed 16 times per spin. In order to handle the large volume of data within the telemetry limitations the distributions are compressed to varying degrees in angle and energy, log-count compressed and then further compressed by a lossless technique. This data processing task is supported by two SA3300 microprocessors. The voltages (up to 5 kV) for the tandem toroidal electrostatic analyzers and preacceleration sections are supplied from fixed high voltage supplies using optically controlled series-shunt regulators.     

The Global Geospace Science Program and its investigations

The detailed study of the solar-terrestrial energy chain will be greatly enhanced with the launch and simultaneous operation of several spacecraft during the current decade. These programs are being coordinates in the United States under the umbrella of the International Solar Terrestrial Physics Program (ISTP) and include fundamental contributions from Japan (GEOTAIL Program) and Europe (SOHO and CLUSTER Programs). The principal United States contribution to this effort is the Global Geospace Science Program (GGS) described in this overview paper. Two spacecraft, WIND and POLAR, carrying an advanced complement of field, particle and imaging instruments, will conduct investigations of several key regions of geospace. This paper provides a general overview of the science objectives of the missions, the spacecraft orbits and the ground elements that have been developed to process and analyze the instrument observations.     

The WIND magnetic field investigation

The magnetic field experiment on WIND will provide data for studies of a broad range of scales of structures and fluctuation characteristics of the interplanetary magnetic field throughout the mission, and, where appropriate, relate them to the statics and dynamics of the magnetosphere. The basic instrument of the Magnetic Field Investigation (MFI) is a boom-mounted dual triaxial fluxgate magnetometer and associated electronics. The dual configuration provides redundancy and also permits accurate removal of the dipolar portion of the spacecraft magnetic field. The instrument provides (1) near real-time data at nominally one vector per 92 s as key parameter data for broad dissemination, (2) rapid data at 10.9 vectors s^–1 for standard analysis, and (3) occasionally, snapshot (SS) memory data and Fast Fourier Transform data (FFT), both based on 44 vectors s^–1. These measurements will be precise (0.025%), accurate, ultra-sensitive (0.008 nT/step quantization), and where the sensor noise level is <0.006 nT r.m.s. for 0–10 Hz. The digital processing unit utilizes a 12-bit microprocessor controlled analogue-to-digital converter. The instrument features a very wide dynamic range of measurement capability, from ±4 nT up to ±65 536 nT per axis in eight discrete ranges. (The upper range permits complete testing in the Earth's field.) In the FTT mode power spectral density elements are transmitted to the ground as fast as once every 23 s (high rate), and 2.7 min of SS memory time series data, triggered automatically by pre-set command, requires typically about 5.1 hours for transmission. Standard data products are expected to be the following vector field averages: 0.0227-s (detail data from SS), 0.092 s (detail in standard mode), 3 s, 1 min, and 1 hour, in both GSE and GSM coordinates, as well as the FFT spectral elements. As has been our team's tradition, high instrument reliability is obtained by the use of fully redundant systems and extremely conservative designs. We plan studies of the solar wind: (1) as a collisionless plasma laboratory, at all time scales, macro, meso and micro, but concentrating on the kinetic scale, the highest time resolution of the instrument (=0.022 s), (2) as a consequence of solar energy and mass output, (3) as an external source of plasma that can couple mass, momentum, and energy to the Earth's magnetosphere, and (4) as it is modified as a consequence of its imbedded field interacting with the moon. Since the GEOTAIL Inboard Magnetometer (GIM), which is similar to the MFI instrument, was developed by members of our team, we provide a brief discussion of GIM related science objectives, along with MFI related science goals.     

The complex Hα profile of the hypergiant HR 8752 during 1970–1992

The profiles of H observed during the 1970–1992 period in the binary hypergiant HR 8752 (G0 Ia) are presented. We distinguish five typical H profiles designated as A, B, C, D and E types according to the number of emission and absorption features. The profiles of H are complex and contain several emission and absorption components, with: –130 km/s in emission or absorption, –84 km/s in absorption, –49 km/s in emission and about +6 km/s in emission. All of them are rather stable in radial velocities except of the main absorption component in the P Cygni profile with –84 km/s. The frequency of appearance and the periods of duration of the occurrence of the components is discussed. The duration times range between about 3 to 10 months for various components. The red emission component E₂ is particularly interesting. Possible explanations of its origin are discussed.A long-term acceleration of the absorption component in the P Cygni profile is found; it can be interpreted as monotonous acceleration of the stellar wind.     

The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO)

The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), a fully approved and funded project of ESA, will operate at wavelengths from 3–200 microns. The satellite essentially consists of a large cryostat containing about 2300 litres of superfluid helium to maintain the telescope (primary mirror diameter of 60 cm) and the scientific instruments at temperatures between 2K and 8K. A pointing accuracy of a few arc seconds is provided by a three-axis-stabilisation system. ISO's instrument complement consists of four instruments, namely: an imaging photo-polarimeter (3–200 microns), a camera (3–17 microns), a short wavelength spectrometer (3–45 microns) and a long wavelength spectrometer (45–180 microns). ISO's scheduled launch date is May 1993 and it will be operational for at least 18 months. In keeping with ISO's role as an observatory, two-thirds of its observing time will be made available to the general astronomical community via several Calls for Observing Proposals.     

Magnetic field reconnection theory and the solar wind — Magnetosphere interaction: A review

This review considers the theory of the magnetic field line reconnection and its application to the problem of the interaction between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere. In particular, we discuss the reconnection models by Sonnerup and by Petschek (for both incompressible and compressible plasmas, for the asymmetric and nonsteady-state cases), the magnetic field annihilation model by Parker; Syrovatsky's model of the current sheet; and Birn's and Schindler's solution for the plasma sheet structure. A review of laboratory and numerical modelling experiments is given.Results concerning the field line reconnection, combined with the peculiarities of the MHD flow, were used in investigating the solar wind flow around the magnetosphere. We found that in the presence of a frozen-in magnetic field, the flow differs significantly from that in a pure gas dynamic case; in particular, at the subsolar. part of the magnetopause a stagnation line appears (i.e., a line along which the stream lines are branching) instead of a stagnation point. The length and location of the stagnation line determine the character of the interaction of the solar wind with the Earth's magnetosphere. We have developed the theory of that interaction for a steady-state case, and compare the results of the calculations with the experimental data.In the last section of the review, we propose a qualitative model of the solar wind — the Earth's magnetosphere interaction in the nonsteady-state case on the basis of the solution of the problem of the spontaneous magnetic field line reconnection.     

Comet nucleus sample return: Plans and capabilities

ROSETTA — the Comet Nucleus Sample Return mission — is one of the four Cornerstone missions to which ESA has committed itself in its approved Long-Term Programme Horizon 2000. The mission is currently being studied in collaboration with NASA. The comet-nucleus samples that ROSETTA is to provide will allow us to study some of the most primitive material in the solar system and the physical and chemical processes that marked the beginning of the system 4.6 billion years ago. For ESA, ROSETTA is a new type of mission: one which will return a sample at cryogenic temperature, and where as much effort has to be spent on preparing the laboratory analysis on-ground as has to be invested in preparing the space segment with the sample acquisition and in situ documentation. As part of the preparation for this mission, ESA is now starting to consider Planetary Protection issues.