RPC-MAG The Fluxgate Magnetometer in the ROSETTA Plasma Consortium

The fluxgate magnetometer experiment onboard the ROSETTA spacecraft aims to measure the magnetic field in the interaction region of the solar wind plasma with comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. It consists of a system of two ultra light (about 28 g each ) triaxial fluxgate magnetometer sensors, mounted on the 1.5 m long spacecraft boom. The measurement range of each sensor is ±16384 nT with quantization steps of 31 pT. The magnetometer sensors are operated with a time resolution of up to 0.05 s, corresponding to a bandwidth of 0–10 Hz. This performance of the RPC-MAG sensors allows detailed analyses of magnetic field variations in the cometary environment. RPC-MAG furthermore is designed to study possible remnant magnetic fields of the nucleus, measurements which will be done in close cooperation with the ROSETTA lander magnetometer experiment ROMAP.     

Electromagnetic Induction Effects and Dynamo Action in the Hermean System

Embedded in a large mass density and strong interplanetary magnetic field solar wind environment and equipped with a magnetic field of minor strength, planet Mercury exhibits a small magnetosphere vulnerable to severe solar wind buffeting. This causes large variations in the size of the magnetosphere and its associated currents. External fields are of far more importance than in the terrestrial case and of a size comparable to any internal, dynamo-generated field. Induction effects in the planetary interior, dominated by its huge core, are thought to play a much more prominent role in the Hermean magnetosphere compared to any of its companions. Furthermore, the external fields may cause planetary dynamo amplification much as discussed for the Galilean moons Io and Ganymede, but with the ambient field generated by the dynamo and its magnetic field-solar wind interaction.     

First Results of the THEMIS Search Coil Magnetometers

We present the first data from the THEMIS Search Coil Magnetometers (SCM), taken between March and June 2007 while the THEMIS constellation apogee moved from the duskside toward the dawnside. Data reduction, especially the SCM calibration method and spurious noise reduction process, is described. The signatures of magnetic fluctuations in key magnetospheric regions such as the bow shock, the magnetopause and the magnetotail during a substorm, are described. We also discuss the role that magnetic fluctuations could play in plasma transport, acceleration and heating.     

THEMIS ESA First Science Results and Performance Issues

Early observations by the THEMIS ESA plasma instrument have revealed new details of the dayside magnetosphere. As an introduction to THEMIS plasma data, this paper presents observations of plasmaspheric plumes, ionospheric ion outflows, field line resonances, structure at the low latitude boundary layer, flux transfer events at the magnetopause, and wave and particle interactions at the bow shock. These observations demonstrate the capabilities of the plasma sensors and the synergy of its measurements with the other THEMIS experiments. In addition, the paper includes discussions of various performance issues with the ESA instrument such as sources of sensor background, measurement limitations, and data formatting problems. These initial results demonstrate successful achievement of all measurement objectives for the plasma instrument.     

The Upgraded CARISMA Magnetometer Array in the THEMIS Era

This review describes the infrastructure and capabilities of the expanded and upgraded Canadian Array for Realtime InvestigationS of Magnetic Activity (CARISMA) magnetometer array in the era of the THEMIS mission. Formerly operated as the Canadian Auroral Network for the OPEN Program Unified Study (CANOPUS) magnetometer array until 2003, CARISMA capabilities have been extended with the deployment of additional fluxgate magnetometer stations (to a total of 28), the upgrading of the fluxgate magnetometer cadence to a standard data product of 1 sample/s (raw sampled 8 samples/s data stream available on request), and the deployment of a new network of 8 pairs of induction coils (100 samples per second). CARISMA data, GPS-timed and backed up at remote field stations, is collected using Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) satellite internet in real-time providing a real-time monitor for magnetic activity on a continent-wide scale. Operating under the magnetic footprint of the THEMIS probes, data from 5 CARISMA stations at 29–30 samples/s also forms part of the formal THEMIS ground-based observatory (GBO) data-stream. In addition to technical details, in this review we also outline some of the scientific capabilities of the CARISMA array for addressing all three of the scientific objectives of the THEMIS mission, namely: 1. Onset and evolution of the macroscale substorm instability, 2. Production of storm-time MeV electrons, and 3. Control of the solar wind-magnetosphere coupling by the bow shock, magnetosheath, and magnetopause. We further discuss some of the compelling questions related to these three THEMIS mission science objectives which can be addressed with CARISMA.     

Modified gradiometer technique applied to Double Star (TC-1)

On TC-1 (Tan Ce 1), the equatorial spacecraft of the Double Star mission, a strong spin-synchronized magnetic interference from the solar panels was observed. In-flight correction techniques for spinning spacecraft that are based on minimizing spin tones in the spin-aligned component and in the magnitude of the ambient magnetic field are therefore not possible in this case. However, due to the fortunate situation that the spacecraft carries two flux-gate magnetometers on the same boom (at 0.5 m distance from each other), the spacecraft field effects could be removed from the spin-averaged data to achieve 0.2 nT relative accuracy, by using a gradiometer technique. Methodology and results are presented. The obtained accuracy allows the use of the data in multi-spacecraft studies together with the Cluster satellites.     

ROMAP: Rosetta Magnetometer and Plasma Monitor

The scientific objectives, design and capabilities of the Rosetta Lander’s ROMAP instrument are presented. ROMAP’s main scientific goals are longterm magnetic field and plasma measurements of the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in order to study cometary activity as a function of heliocentric distance, and measurements during the Lander’s descent to investigate the structure of the comet’s remanent magnetisation. The ROMAP fluxgate magnetometer, electrostatic analyser and Faraday cup measure the magnetic field from 0 to 32 Hz, ions of up to 8000 keV and electrons of up to 4200 keV. Additional two types of pressure sensors – Penning and Minipirani – cover a pressure range from 10⁻⁸ to 10¹ mbar. ROMAP’s sensors and electronics are highly integrated, as required by a combined field/plasma instrument with less than 1 W power consumption and 1 kg mass.     

The THEMIS Magnetic Cleanliness Program

The five identical THEMIS Spacecraft, launched in February 2007, carry two magnetometers on each probe, one DC fluxgate (FGM) and one AC search coil (SCM). Due to the small size of the THEMIS probes, and the short length of the magnetometer booms, magnetic cleanliness was a particularly complex task for this medium sized mission. The requirements leveled on the spacecraft and instrument design required a detailed approach, but one that did not hamper the development of the probes during their short design, production and testing phase. In this paper we describe the magnetic cleanliness program’s requirements, design guidelines, program implementation, mission integration and test philosophy and present test results, and mission on-orbit performance.     

First Results from the THEMIS Mission

THEMIS was launched on February 17, 2007 to determine the trigger and large-scale evolution of substorms. During the first seven months of the mission the five satellites coasted near their injection orbit to avoid differential precession in anticipation of orbit placement, which started in September 2007 and led to a commencement of the baseline mission in December 2007. During the coast phase the probes were put into a string-of-pearls configuration at 100 s of km to 2 R_E along-track separations, which provided a unique view of the magnetosphere and enabled an unprecedented dataset in anticipation of the first tail season. In this paper we describe the first THEMIS substorm observations, captured during instrument commissioning on March 23, 2007. THEMIS measured the rapid expansion of the plasma sheet at a speed that is commensurate with the simultaneous expansion of the auroras on the ground. These are the first unequivocal observations of the rapid westward expansion process in space and on the ground. Aided by the remote sensing technique at energetic particle boundaries and combined with ancillary measurements and MHD simulations, they allow determination and mapping of space currents. These measurements show the power of the THEMIS instrumentation in the tail and the radiation belts. We also present THEMIS Flux Transfer Events (FTE) observations at the magnetopause, which demonstrate the importance of multi-point observations there and the quality of the THEMIS instrumentation in that region of space.