MSSL PRD Case for Support: Solar Wind Plasma Analyser/Electron Analyser System for Solar Orbiter

欧空局太阳轨道飞行器任务的关键测量目标之一是描述太阳风中发现的粒子群，特别是在靠近太阳的未开发的“内日光层”区域。通过这样做，我们将能够获得太阳风中等离子体和磁场之间发生的物理过程的线索，检查太阳风结构的影响，如日冕物质抛射，当它们从太阳传播出去时，还可以在太阳风和太阳大气活动之间建立重要的联系，以便了解太阳风及其内部结构是如何形成的。UCl/MSSL是一个国际联盟的一部分，该联盟将提议建造测量太阳风中带电粒子数量的仪器。特别是，MSSL将提供2个传感器，这两个传感器需要对太阳风中的电子种群进行完整的测量。由于太阳轨道飞行器任务将比以往任何任务都更接近太阳，为了实现所需的测量和获得所需的科学回报，必须克服许多技术挑战。我们已经建立了一个原型传感器，正在MSSL热真空室中进行测试。需要进一步的测试和设计工作来调整传感器，以最大限度地提高它们在内部日球层环境中的效率。此外，MSSL需要与欧空局合作，以确保我们的传感器和航天器之间的接口是明确和适当的。这里提出的任务的目的是进行这些设计和权衡研究，以便在仪器建成和任务启动后最大限度地提高科学成功的机会。

One of the key measurement goals for the ESA Solar Orbiter mission is to characterise the particle populations found in the solar wind, particularly in the unexplored 'inner heliosphere' region close to the Sun. In doing so, we will be able to obtain clues to both the physical processes that occur between plasmas and magnetic fields in the solar wind, to examine the effect of solar wind structures, such as coronal mass ejections, as they propagate away from the Sun, and also to make the important link between the solar wind and the activity in the Solar atmosphere in order to understand how the solar wind and the structures within it are formed. UCl/MSSL is part of an international consortium which will propose to build the instruments that will measure the charged particle populations in the solar wind. In particular, MSSL will provide the 2 sensors that are required to make a complete measurement of the electron populations within the solar wind. Since the Solar Orbiter mission will go closer to the Sun than any previous mission, there are a number of technical challenges that must be overcome in order to achieve the required measurements and gain the required science return. We have built a prototype sensor which is under test within the MSSL thermal vacuum chambers. Further testing and design work is required to tune the sensors to maximise their effectiveness in the inner heliospheric environment. In addition MSSL is required to collaborate with ESA in order to ensure that the interfaces between our sensors and the spacecraft are well defined and appropriate. The purpose of the tasks proposed here are to carry out these design and trade-off studies in order to maximise the chances of scientific success once the instrument is built and the mission launched.