Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission is a NASA robotic space mission to study the Earth's magnetosphere, using four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation.[2] The spacecraft were launched on 13 March 2015 at 02:44 UTC.[3] The mission is designed to gather information about the microphysics of magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence⁠—processes that occur in many astrophysical plasmas.[4] As of March 2020, the MMS spacecraft have enough fuel to remain operational until 2040.[5]

Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
Mission typeMagnetosphere research
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID2015-011A, 2015-011B, 2015-011C, 2015-011D
SATCAT no.40482, 40483, 40484, 40485
Websitemms.gsfc.nasa.gov
Mission durationPlanned: 2 years, 5.5 months[1]
Elapsed: 5 years, 10 months, 25 days
Spacecraft properties
ManufacturerGoddard Space Flight Center
Launch mass1,360 kg (2,998 lb)[1]
DimensionsStowed: 3.4 × 1.2 m (11 × 4 ft)[1]
Deployed: 112 × 29 m (369 × 94 ft)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date13 March 2015, 02:44 (2015-03-13UTC02:44) UTC
RocketAtlas V 421
Launch siteCape Canaveral SLC-41
ContractorUnited Launch Alliance
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeHighly elliptical
Perigee altitude2,550 km (1,580 mi)[1]
Apogee altitude Day phase: 70,080 km (43,550 mi)[1]
Night phase: 152,900 km (95,000 mi)[1]
Inclination28.0°
 

Background

The mission builds upon the successes of the ESA Cluster mission, but will surpass it in spatial resolution and in temporal resolution, allowing for the first time measurements of the critical electron diffusion region, the site where magnetic reconnection occurs. Its orbit is optimized to spend extended periods in locations where reconnection is known to occur: at the dayside magnetopause, the place where the pressure from the solar wind and the planets' magnetic field are equal; and in the magnetotail, which is formed by pressure from the solar wind on a planet's magnetosphere and which can extend great distances away from its originating planet.

Magnetic reconnection in Earth's magnetosphere is one of the mechanisms responsible for the aurora, and it is important to the science of controlled nuclear fusion because it is one mechanism preventing magnetic confinement of the fusion fuel. These mechanisms are studied in outer space by the measurement of motions of matter in stellar atmospheres, like that of the Sun. Magnetic reconnection is a phenomenon in which energy may be efficiently transferred from a magnetic field to the motion of charged particles.[6]

Spacecraft

The MMS mission consists of four spacecraft. Each has a launch mass of 1,360 kg (2,998 lb).[1] In their stowed launch configuration, each are approximately 3.4 by 1.2 m (11 by 4 ft), and when stacked together they have a total height of 4.9 m (16 ft).[1] After being deployed in orbit, a total of eight axial and wire booms are deployed, increasing vehicle size to 112 by 29 m (369 by 94 ft).[1]

The MMS spacecraft are spin stabilized, turning at a rate of three revolutions per minute to maintain orientation. Each spacecraft contains 12 thrusters connected to four hydrazine fuel tanks. Position data is provided by highly sensitive GPS equipment, while attitude is maintained by four star trackers, two accelerometers, and two sun sensors.[1]

The mission is broken into three phases. The commissioning phase will last approximately five and a half months after launch, while the science phases will last two years. The first science phase will focus on the magnetic boundary between the Earth and Sun (day side operations) for one and a half years, with the spacecraft formation orbiting the Earth at 2,550 by 70,080 km (1,580 by 43,550 mi). The second science phase will study reconnection in Earth's magnetic tail (night side operations) for half a year, increasing the orbit to 2,550 by 152,900 km (1,580 by 95,010 mi).[1]

Instruments

Each spacecraft carries several experiments, divided into three suites: the Hot Plasma Suite, the Energetic Particles Detector Suite, and the Fields Suite.[7]

The Hot Plasma Suite measures plasma particle counts, directions, and energies during reconnection. It consists of two instruments:

  • Fast Plasma Investigation (FPI), a set of four dual electron spectrometers and four dual ion spectrometers.
  • Hot Plasma Composition Analyzer (HPCA), detects particle speed in order to determine its mass and type.

The Energetic Particles Detector Suite detects particles at energies far exceeding those detected by the Hot Plasma Suite. It consists of two instruments:

  • Fly's Eye Energetic Particle Sensor (FEEPS), a set of silicon solid state detectors to measure electron energy. Between two FEEPS per spacecraft, the individual detectors are arranged to provide 18 different view angles simultaneously; hence the term "fly's eye".
  • Energetic Ion Spectrometer (EIS), measures energy and total velocity of detected ions in order to determine their mass. The EIS can detect helium and oxygen ions at energies higher than that of the HPCA.

The Fields Suite measures magnetic and electric field characteristics. It consists of six instruments:

  • Analog Fluxgate magnetometer (AFG), determines the strength of magnetic fields.
  • Digital Fluxgate magnetometer (DFG), determines the strength of magnetic fields.
  • Electron Drift Instrument (EDI), measures electric and magnetic field strength by sending a beam of electrons into space and measuring how long it takes the electrons to circle back in the presence of these fields.
  • Spin-plane Double Probe (SDP), consists of electrodes on the end of four 200 ft (60 m) wires booms that extend from the spacecraft to measure electric fields.
  • Axial Double Probe (ADP), a set of electrodes on two 49 ft (15 m) antennas mounted axially on the spacecraft.
  • Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM), an induction magnetometer used to measure magnetic fields.

Personnel and development
Atlas V launch vehicle

The principal investigator is James L. Burch of Southwest Research Institute, assisted by an international team of investigators, both instrument leads and theory and modeling experts.[8] The Project Scientist is Thomas E. Moore of Goddard Space Flight Center.[9] Education and public outreach is a key aspect of the mission, with student activities, data sonification, and planetarium shows being developed.

The mission was selected for support by NASA in 2005. System engineering, spacecraft bus design, integration and testing has been performed by Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Instrumentation is being improved, with extensive experience brought in from other projects, such as the IMAGE, Cluster and Cassini missions. In June 2009, MMS was allowed to proceed to Phase C, having passed a Preliminary Design Review. The mission passed its Critical Design Review in September 2010.[10] The spacecraft launched on an Atlas V 421 rocket,[11] in March 2015.[3][12]

Formation flying

In order to collect the desired science data, the four satellite MMS constellation must maintain a tetrahedral formation through a defined region of interest in a highly elliptical orbit. The formation is maintained through the use of a high altitude rated GPS receiver, Navigator, to provide orbit knowledge, and regular formation maintenance maneuvers.[13] Through Navigator, the MMS mission broke the Guinness World Record twice for highest altitude fix of a GPS signal (at 43,500 and 116,300 miles above the surface in 2016 and 2019 respectively).[14][15]

Discoveries

In 2016, the MMS mission was the first to directly detect magnetic reconnection, the phenomenon which drives space weather in the Earth's magnetosphere.[16][17]

MMS has since detected magnetic reconnection occurring in unexpected places. In 2018, MMS made the first-ever detection of magnetic reconnection in the magnetosheath, a region of space previously thought to be too chaotic and unstable to sustain reconnection.[18] Magnetic flux ropes and Kelvin–Helmholtz vortices are other phenomena where MMS has detected reconnection events against expectations.[5]

In August 2019, astronomers reported that MMS made the first high-resolution measurements of an interplanetary shock wave from the sun.[19]

See also
  • IMAGE, the Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration, a prior magnetosphere research satellite
  • PUNCH
  • TRACERS

References
  1. "Magnetospheric Multiscale: Using Earth's magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of magnetic reconnection" (PDF). NASA. March 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2015.
  2. "MMS Spacecraft & Instruments". NASA. 3 August 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  3. "MMS Launch". NASA. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  4. Lewis, W. S. "MMS-SMART: Quick Facts". Southwest Research Institute. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  5. Johnson-Groh, Mara (12 March 2020). "NASA's MMS Marks its 5th Year Breaking Records in Space". NASA. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  6. Vaivads, Andris; Retinò, Alessandro; André, Mats (February 2006). "Microphysics of Magnetic Reconnection". Space Science Reviews. 122 (1–4): 19–27. Bibcode:2006SSRv..122...19V. doi:10.1007/s11214-006-7019-3.
  7. "Instruments Aboard MMS". NASA. 30 July 2015. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  8. "The SMART Team". Southwest Research Institute. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  9. Fox, Karen C.; Moore, Tom (1 October 2010). "Q&A: Missions, Meetings, and the Radial Tire Model of the Magnetosphere". NASA. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  10. Hendrix, Susan (3 September 2010). "NASA's Magnetospheric Mission Passes Major Milestone". NASA. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  11. "United Launch Alliance Atlas V Awarded Four NASA Rocket Launch Missions" (Press release). United Launch Alliance. 16 March 2009. Archived from the original on 20 July 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2009.
  12. Werner, Debra (19 December 2011). "Spending Lags Growing Recognition of Heliophysics' Contribution". SpaceNews. Retrieved 6 March 2014.
  13. "Magnetospheric Multiscale Spacecraft". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
  14. Johnson-Groh, Mara (4 November 2016). "NASA's MMS Breaks Guinness World Record". NASA. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  15. Baird, Danny (4 April 2019). "Record-Breaking Satellite Advances NASA's Exploration of High-Altitude GPS". NASA. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  16. Choi, Charles Q. (13 May 2016). "NASA Probes Witness Powerful Magnetic Storms near Earth". Scientific American. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  17. Burch, J. L.; et al. (June 2016). "Electron-scale measurements of magnetic reconnection in space". Science. 352 (6290). aaf2939. Bibcode:2016Sci...352.2939B. doi:10.1126/science.aaf2939. hdl:10044/1/32763. PMID 27174677.
  18. Johnson-Groh, Mara (9 May 2018). "NASA Spacecraft Discovers New Magnetic Process in Turbulent Space". NASA. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
  19. Johnson-Groh, Mara (8 August 2019). "NASA's MMS Finds Its 1st Interplanetary Shock". NASA. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
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