RPC: The Rosetta Plasma Consortium

The Rosetta Plasma Consortium (RPC) will make in-situ measurements of the plasma environment of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The consortium will provide the complementary data sets necessary for an understanding of the plasma processes in the inner coma, and the structure and evolution of the coma with the increasing cometary activity. Five sensors have been selected to achieve this: the Ion and Electron Sensor (IES), the Ion Composition Analyser (ICA), the Langmuir Probe (LAP), the Mutual Impedance Probe (MIP) and the Magnetometer (MAG). The sensors interface to the spacecraft through the Plasma Interface Unit (PIU). The consortium approach allows for scientific, technical and operational coordination, and makes optimum use of the available mass and power resources.     

HF wave activity in the low and middle-altitude polar cusp

We reported the results of our investigations of wave activity in high-frequency range performed on board CLUSTER spacecraft in the middle-altitude cusp region, around 5 R_E during August and September 2002. Our analysis was mainly based on the registration gathered by the WHISPER instrument (Waves of HIgh frequency and Sounder for Probing of Electron density by Relaxation). For a better understanding of the processes of wave-particle interaction and in order to understand the general plasma conditions in the cusp region, we also included in our analysis the data registered by the STAFF (Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Field Fluctuation experiment) instrument and the CIS (Ion Spectrometry experiment) instrument. These observations were carried out during different geomagnetic activity; under quiet conditions and during magnetic storm period. The space plasma is characterised by the ratio of plasma frequency to electron gyrofrequency, in this case, the local plasma frequency was, mainly, a little greater than the electron plasma, but it was also frequently observed that these two characteristic frequencies were not very different from one another. The whistler waves, electron-cyclotron waves, electron-acoustic waves and Langmuir waves have been detected when the spacecraft was crossing the middle-altitude cusp region. We suggested that the majority of those waves were generated by electron beams. For a better understanding the plasma conditions in the low and middle-altitude cusp region the past FREJA wave data results are used to describe typical wave activity detected in the low-altitude cusp region. The aim of this paper is to discuss, on the basis of a few chosen representative examples, the property of typical high wave activity detected in the lower part of cusp region.