Science Objectives and Rationale for the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission
By B. Mauk, N. Fox, S. Kanekal, R. Kessel, D. Sibeck, A. Y. Ukhorskiy. Space Science Reviews, 2012
1,171 citations recorded by the source corpus.
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 (dE and dB) 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.
Subfields: Astronomy and Astrophysics
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/98eeba5439fce50e7529f755e291458d5352e283
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In Astronomy and Astrophysics
Citations in the corpus
- Earth's Van Allen Radiation Belts: From Discovery to the Van Allen Probes Era (2019, background): “measurements during the maximum and declining phase of Solar Cycle 24 (Mauk et al., 2013).”
- The Jupiter Energetic Particle Detector Instrument (JEDI) Investigation for the Juno Mission (2017, background): “The Earth encounter is a particularly important opportunity to test the JEDI responses in a fairly well know environment and where there are other assets with which to compare the results, most importantly the Van Allen Probes twin spacecraft mission (Mauk et al. 2012) which carries the RBSPICE inst”
- The occurrence and wave properties of H+‐, He+‐, and O+‐band EMIC waves observed by the Van Allen Probes (2015, background): “The Van Allen Probes mission (formerly the Radiation Belt Storm Probes, RBSP) [Kessel et al., 2013; Mauk et al., 2013] are two identical spacecraft that orbit around the Earth between a perigee and apogee of 1.1 and 5.8 RE, SAIKIN ET AL.”
- Statistical properties of plasmaspheric hiss derived from Van Allen Probes data and their effects on radiation belt electron dynamics (2015, methodology): “Plasmaspheric hiss wave properties were analyzed using the Electric andMagnetic Field Instrument Suite and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) [Kletzing et al., 2013] wave data recorded by the twin Van Allen Probes with an apogee of ~5.8 RE [Mauk et al., 2012].”
- Constructing the global distribution of chorus wave intensity using measurements of electrons by the POES satellites and waves by the Van Allen Probes (2013, background): “8RE [Mauk et al., 2012] provide wavemeasurements in the near-equatorial magnetosphere since their launch on 30 August 2012.”
- Gradual diffusion and punctuated phase space density enhancements of highly relativistic electrons: Van Allen Probes observations (2014, methodology): “The Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission was launched by NASA on 30 August 2012 in order to better understand radiation belt acceleration, transport, and loss processes [Mauk et al., 2012].”
- Van Allen Probes observation of localized drift resonance between poloidal mode ultra‐low frequency waves and 60 keV electrons (2013, methodology): “[5] The twin Van Allen Probes spacecraft were launched into a near-equatorial, geotransfer orbit, with apogee near L 6 and contain a comprehensive suite of particle and field sensors designed to study the Earth’s radiation environment [Mauk et al., 2012].”
- Radiation belt electron acceleration by chorus waves during the 17 March 2013 storm (2014, methodology): “Particle and wave measurements from the twin Van Allen Probes near the equatorial magnetosphere [Mauk et al., 2012] were used to analyze the 17 March 2013 geomagnetic storm.”
- Energetic electron precipitation associated with pulsating aurora: EISCAT and Van Allen Probe observations (2015, methodology): “Moreover, we investigate the plasma waves and electrons in the magnetosphere during the event using Van Allen Probe-A satellite data [Mauk et al., 2012].”
- An unusual enhancement of low‐frequency plasmaspheric hiss in the outer plasmasphere associated with substorm‐injected electrons (2013, background): “8 RE, and inclination of 10° [Mauk et al., 2012] are well situated to measure whistler-mode waves in the inner magnetosphere.”