The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer: A Review of On-Orbit Sensor Performance, Data, Operations, and Science

S G Claudepierre; J B Blake; A J Boyd; J H Clemmons; J F Fennell; C Gabrielse; M D Looper; J E Mazur; T P O'Brien; G D Reeves; J L Roeder; H E Spence; D L Turner

doi:10.1007/s11214-021-00855-2

The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer: A Review of On-Orbit Sensor Performance, Data, Operations, and Science

Space Sci Rev. 2021;217(8):80. doi: 10.1007/s11214-021-00855-2. Epub 2021 Oct 28.

Authors

S G Claudepierre^{1

2}, J B Blake¹, A J Boyd¹, J H Clemmons³, J F Fennell¹, C Gabrielse¹, M D Looper¹, J E Mazur¹, T P O'Brien¹, G D Reeves⁴, J L Roeder¹, H E Spence³, D L Turner⁵

Affiliations

¹ Space Science Applications Laboratory, The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, CA USA.
² Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA USA.
³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH USA.
⁴ Space and Atmospheric Sciences Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM USA.
⁵ Space Exploration Sector, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, MD USA.

Abstract

Measurements from NASA's Van Allen Probes have transformed our understanding of the dynamics of Earth's geomagnetically-trapped, charged particle radiation. The Van Allen Probes were equipped with the Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometers (MagEIS) that measured energetic and relativistic electrons, along with energetic ions, in the radiation belts. Accurate and routine measurement of these particles was of fundamental importance towards achieving the scientific goals of the mission. We provide a comprehensive review of the MagEIS suite's on-orbit performance, operation, and data products, along with a summary of scientific results. The purpose of this review is to serve as a complement to the MagEIS instrument paper, which was largely completed before flight and thus focused on pre-flight design and performance characteristics. As is the case with all space-borne instrumentation, the anticipated sensor performance was found to be different once on orbit. Our intention is to provide sufficient detail on the MagEIS instruments so that future generations of researchers can understand the subtleties of the sensors, profit from these unique measurements, and continue to unlock the mysteries of the near-Earth space radiation environment.

Supplementary information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11214-021-00855-2.

Keywords: Acceleration, transport, and loss of radiation belt particles; Energetic magnetospheric particles; Particle instrument operation; Relativistic electron sensors.

Publication types

Review