[IGPP Everyone] Space Physics Seminar - Fri. March 5th - 3:30pm - The Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites Mission (C. A. Kletzing, U. Iowa)

[Emmanuel V. Masongsong]

SPACE PHYSICS SEMINAR 




DEPARTMENT OF EARTH, PLANETARY, AND SPACE SCIENCES 

DEPARTMENT OF ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC SCIENCES 

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES 




ZOOM Link: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/94454128469?pwd=Qm9OSmZZekN5S0RoVTFITEs0N296QT09 

Meeting ID: 944 5412 8469 Passcode: 263337 



The Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites Mission 

C. A. Kletzing 
Univ. of Iowa 

The TRACERS mission consists of two identically instrumented satellites in the same low-Earth, sun-synchronous orbit with the spacecraft separated by 10-120s along the orbital track. The mission was selected for implementation in June, 2019 by NASA as a Small Explorer class investigation. The overarching mission goal of the TRACERS mission is: Connecting the magnetospheric cusp to the magnetopause – discovering how spatial or temporal variations in magnetic reconnection drive cusp dynamics. To address this goal, the TRACERS mission has three major scientific objectives: 

* Determine whether magnetopause reconnection is primarily spatially or temporally variable for a range of solar wind conditions. 
* For temporally varying reconnection, determine how the reconnection rate evolves. 
* Determine to what extent dynamic structures in the cusp are associated with temporal versus spatial reconnection. 

To accomplish this scientific research, TRACERS makes field and particle observations in the cusp in a Sun Synchronous Orbit at 500 km. Statistical analysis of the orbit shows that TRACERS will have more than 3250 cusp encounters in a one year mission lifetime. Well-proven instruments and good understanding of orbital characteristics allows for simple mission operations coupled with proven data analysis techniques backed by high-fidelity simulations. The instrumentation consists of ion and electron spectrometers, DC electric and magnetic field and AC wave measurements. We discuss the mission concept and relevance to space weather as well as presenting details of the spacecraft instruments, engineering challenges, and operational plan. 



Friday, March 5, 2021 

3:30 - 5:00 PM 




In-Charge: Vassilis Angelopoulos 

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