Abstract
Abstract Solar Probe Cup (SPC) is a Faraday cup instrument on board NASA’s Parker Solar Probe (PSP) spacecraft designed to make rapid measurements of thermal coronal and solar wind plasma. The spacecraft is in a heliocentric orbit that takes it closer to the Sun than any previous spacecraft, allowing measurements to be made where the coronal and solar wind plasma is being heated and accelerated. The SPC instrument was designed to be pointed directly at the Sun at all times, allowing the solar wind (which is flowing primarily radially away from the Sun) to be measured throughout the orbit. The instrument is capable of measuring solar wind ions with an energy between 100 and 6000 V (protons with speeds from 139 to 1072 km s−1). It also measures electrons with an energy/charge between 100 and 1500 V. SPC has been designed to have a wide dynamic range that is capable of measuring protons and alpha particles at the closest perihelion (9.86 solar radii from the center of the Sun) and out to 0.25 au. Initial observations from the first orbit of PSP indicate that the instrument is functioning well.
Highlights
Solar Probe ANalyzer” (SPAN) instruments are electrostatic analyzers, which are capable of providing the full three-dimensional velocity distribution function (VDF) through the use of curved plates for discrimination based on the incoming particle’s energy/charge, multiple anodes to measure the flux from different azimuth angles, and electrostatic deflectors to scan through elevation angles (Livi et al 2019; Whittlesey et al 2019)
When deciding on the operating plan for Solar Probe Cup (SPC), the number of full scans performed is kept to a minimum, but must be balanced with the advantages provided by full scans, allowing SPC to accurately identify the peak of the distribution so that peak tracking can be performed
A Sun-viewing solar wind ion instrument is essential for the fulfillment of all Parker Solar Probe (PSP) science objectives, but major technological challenges had to be overcome in order to develop and test the instrument
Summary
The Parker Solar Probe (PSP) is a robotic NASA mission that consists of a single three-axis-stabilized (primarily Sunpointed) spacecraft in a heliocentric orbit with an aphelion beyond the orbit of Venus and a perihelion that gradually decreases from 35 solar radii (RS) to 9.86 RS over the course of 24 orbits and seven years through the use of seven Venus gravity assists. The primary objectives of the mission are described in detail in Fox et al (2016) and are briefly summarized here: (1) to determine the structure and dynamics of the magnetic fields at the sources of the fast and slow solar wind, (2) to trace the flow of energy that heats the solar corona and accelerates the solar wind, and (3) to explore mechanisms that accelerate and transport energetic particles. The suite consists of three “Solar Probe ANalyzer” (SPAN) instruments and Solar Probe Cup (SPC). SPAN instruments are electrostatic analyzers, which are capable of providing the full three-dimensional velocity distribution function (VDF) through the use of curved plates for discrimination based on the incoming particle’s energy/charge, multiple anodes to measure the flux from different azimuth angles, and electrostatic deflectors to scan through elevation angles (Livi et al 2019; Whittlesey et al 2019).
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