In situ observations of ions and magnetic field around Phobos: the mass spectrum analyzer (MSA) for the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission

Earth, Planets and Space

Micah J. Schaible¹  Yoshifumi Saito²  Masaki N. Nishino²  Reiko Nomura²  Kazushi Asamura²  Naofumi Murata³  Shun Imajo⁴  Ayako Matsuoka⁴  Yuki Harada⁴  Dominique Delcourt⁵  Shoichiro Yokota⁶  Yoshifumi Futaana⁷  Kanako Seki⁸  Kunihiro Keika⁸  Satoshi Kasahara⁸  Hiromu Nakagawa⁹  Naoki Terada⁹ 

[1] Georgia Institute of Technology, 901 Atlantic Drive, 30332, Atlanta, GA, USA;Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Yoshinodai, Chuo-ku, 252-5210, Sagamihara, Japan;Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, 305-8505, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan;Kyoto University, Kitashirakawaoiwake-cho, Sakyo-ku, 606-8502, Kyoto, Japan;LPP-CNRS-Sorbonne Universite-Ecole Polytechnique, 4 place Jussieu, 75252, Paris, France;Osaka University, Machikaneyama-cho, 560-0043, Toyonaka, Japan;Swedish Institute of Space Physics, Box 812, 98128, Kiruna, Sweden;The University of Tokyo, Hongo, 113-0033, Bunkyo-ku, Japan;Tohoku University, Aoba-ku, 980-8578, Sendai, Japan;

关键词: Martian Moons eXploration (MMX);    Phobos;    Mars;    Mass spectrum analyzer;    Magnetometer;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s40623-021-01452-x

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

The mass spectrum analyzer (MSA) will perform in situ observations of ions and magnetic fields around Phobos as part of the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission to investigate the origin of the Martian moons and physical processes in the Martian environment. MSA consists of an ion energy mass spectrometer and two magnetometers which will measure velocity distribution functions and mass/charge distributions of low-energy ions and magnetic field vectors, respectively. For the MMX scientific objectives, MSA will observe solar wind ions, those scattered at the Phobos surface, water-related ions generated in the predicted Martian gas torus, secondary ions sputtered from Phobos, and escaping ions from the Martian atmosphere, while monitoring the surrounding magnetic field. MSA will be developed from previous instruments for space plasma missions such as Kaguya, Arase, and BepiColombo/Mio to contribute to the MMX scientific objectives.

【 授权许可】

CC BY