Title
The energetic particle and plasma spectrometer instrument on the MESSENGER Spacecraft
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2007
Department/School
Physics and Astronomy
Abstract
The Energetic Particle and Plasma Spectrometer (EPPS) package on the MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging (MESSENGER) mission to Mercury is composed of two sensors, the Energetic Particle Spectrometer (EPS) and the Fast Imaging Plasma Spectrometer (FIPS). EPS measures the energy, angular, and compositional distributions of the high-energy components of the in situ electrons (>20 keV) and ions (>5 keV/nucleon), while FIPS measures the energy, angular, and compositional distributions of the low-energy components of the ion distributions (/charge to 20 keV/charge). Both EPS and FIPS have very small footprints, and their combined mass (∼3 kg) is significantly lower than that of comparable instruments.
Link to Published Version
Recommended Citation
Andrews, G. B., Zurbuchen, T. H., Mauk, B. H., Malcom, H., Fisk, L. A., Gloeckler, G., … Raines, J. M. (2007). The energetic particle and plasma spectrometer instrument on the MESSENGER Spacecraft. Space Science Reviews, 131(1–4), 523–556. doi:10.1007/s11214-007-9272-5