First Solar Orbiter Instrument Sends Measurements
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
First measurements by a Solar Orbiter science instrument reached the ground on Thursday 13 February providing a confirmation to the international science teams that the magnetometer on board is in good health following a successful deployment of the spacecraft's instrument boom.
Solar Orbiter, ESA's new sun-exploring spacecraft, launched on Monday 10 February. It carries ten scientific instruments, four of which measure properties of the environment around the spacecraft, especially electromagnetic characteristics of the solar wind, the stream of charged particles flowing from the sun. Three of these 'in situ' instruments have sensors located on the 4.4 m-long boom.
"We measure magnetic fields thousands of times smaller than those we are familiar with on Earth," says Tim Horbury of Imperial College London, Principal Investigator for the Magnetometer instrument (MAG). "Even currents in electrical wires make magnetic fields far larger than what we need to measure. That's why our sensors are on a boom, to keep them away from all the electrical activity inside the spacecraft."
Ground controllers at the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, switched on the magnetometer's two sensors (one near the end of the boom and the other close to the spacecraft) about 21 hours after liftoff. The instrument recorded data before, during and after the boom's deployment, allowing the scientists to understand the influence of the spacecraft on measurements in the space environment.
"The data we received shows how the magnetic field decreases from the vicinity of the spacecraft to where the instruments are actually deployed," adds Tim. "This is an independent confirmation that the boom actually deployed and that the instruments will, indeed, provide accurate scientific measurements in the future."
[Emphasis in original. -Ed.]
Previously:
Solar Orbiter Blasts Off to Capture First Look at Sun's Poles
Iran Satellite Launch Fails; ESA Solar Orbiter Launch Succeeds (So Far)
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