Scientific Assessment of NASA's SMEX-MIDEX Space Physics Mission Selections (1997) / Chapter Skim
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2 Recently Launched Space Physics Explorers: SAMPEX and FAST
2 Recently Launched Space Physics Explorers: SAMPEX and FAST
Pages 4-7
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From page 4... ...
Using the Earth's magnetic field as a CHAPTER 2 spectrometer, SAMPEX data have been used to determine charge state by CHAPTER 3 accurately measuring masses and energies of cosmic rays as a function of their CHAPTER 4 location in the magnetosphere. Another specific SAMPEX science goal is to CHAPTER 5 measure magnetospheric particle precipitation patterns over the entire globe and REFERENCES to relate these patterns to various atmospheric effects as well as to spacecraft APPENDIX anomalies.
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From page 5... ...
Another SAMPEX result bearing on particle acceleration processes is that the relative abundances of various isotopes of, for example, oxygen and neon are different in the lower-energy solar cosmic ray range than in the higher-energy range. SAMPEX has also mapped magnetospheric energetic electron fluxes as a function of the magnetospheric coordinate L, as well as temporal changes and local time.
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From page 6... ...
It is hoped that FAST will establish the origins and roles of parallel electric fields in the auroral acceleration regions called inverted Vs; of wave-particle interactions in the creation of upward-moving ion beams of auroral arcs and the fine structure within them; of electrostatic double layers; and of field-aligned currents, auroral kilometric radiation, and kinetic Alfven waves potentially critical in solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling. FAST can resolve spatial scales to much smaller dimensions than most imaging systems.
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From page 7... ...
In fact, the FAST prime mission plan includes "campaigns" with these other facilities during which FAST can be commanded into specified mode sequences in real time. The FAST data system required custom design and construction.
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