MSSL PRD Case for Support: Solar Wind Plasma Analyser/Electron Analyser System for Solar Orbiter
Lead Research Organisation:
UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON
Department Name: Mullard Space Science Laboratory
Abstract
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.
Organisations
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON (Lead Research Organisation)
- National Research Council (Collaboration)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) (Collaboration)
- University of New Hampshire (Collaboration)
- Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) (Collaboration)
- Charles University (Collaboration)
- University of Michigan (Collaboration)
- Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology (Collaboration)
- Laboratory of Plasma Physics (LPP) (Collaboration)
Publications
Rivera Y
(2024)
Mixed Source Region Signatures inside Magnetic Switchback Patches Inferred by Heavy Ion Diagnostics
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rivera Y
(2024)
In situ observations of large-amplitude Alfvén waves heating and accelerating the solar wind
in Science
Rivera Y
(2025)
Differentiating the Acceleration Mechanisms in the Slow and Alfvénic Slow Solar Wind
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rivera Y
(2021)
Solar Origin of Bare Ion Anomalies in the Solar Wind and Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections
in The Astrophysical Journal
Rodgers-Lee D
(2021)
Stellar versus Galactic: the intensity of cosmic rays at the evolving Earth and young exoplanets around Sun-like stars
in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
RodrĂguez-GarcĂa L
(2025)
Solar energetic particles injected inside and outside a magnetic cloud The widespread solar energetic particle event on 2022 January 20
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
RodrĂguez-Pacheco J
(2020)
The Energetic Particle Detector Energetic particle instrument suite for the Solar Orbiter mission
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rojo M
(2024)
Electron moments derived from the Mercury Electron Analyzer during the cruise phase of BepiColombo
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Rouillard A
(2020)
Models and data analysis tools for the Solar Orbiter mission
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
RĂ©ville V
(2022)
Flux rope and dynamics of the heliospheric current sheet Study of the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter conjunction of June 2020
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Sioulas N
(2022)
Magnetic Field Intermittency in the Solar Wind: Parker Solar Probe and SolO Observations Ranging from the Alfvén Region up to 1 AU
in The Astrophysical Journal
Solanki S
(2020)
The Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager on Solar Orbiter
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Soni S
(2024)
Switchback Patches Evolve into Microstreams via Magnetic Relaxation
in The Astrophysical Journal
Stansby D
(2021)
Sensitivity of solar wind mass flux to coronal temperature
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Starkey M
(2024)
Multispacecraft Energetic Particle Enhancements Associated with a Single Corotating Interaction Region
in The Astrophysical Journal
Steed K.
(2008)
Locating the solar source of 13 April 2006 magnetic cloud
in ANNALES GEOPHYSICAE
Teng W
(2024)
Unexpected major geomagnetic storm caused by faint eruption of a solar trans-equatorial flux rope.
in Nature communications
Trotta D
(2022)
Single-spacecraft techniques for shock parameters estimation: A systematic approach
in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Trotta D
(2024)
Observation of a Fully-formed Forward-Reverse Shock Pair due to the Interaction between Two Coronal Mass Ejections at 0.5 au
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Varesano T
(2024)
SPICE connection mosaics to link the Sun's surface and the heliosphere
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Verscharen D
(2022)
Electron-Driven Instabilities in the Solar Wind
in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Volodin I
(2024)
The Changes in Multiscale Solar Wind Fluctuations on the Path from the Sun to Earth
in Universe
Volwerk M
(2021)
Solar Orbiter's first Venus flyby MAG observations of structures and waves associated with the induced Venusian magnetosphere
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Walker M
(2025)
Radial evolution of interplanetary coronal mass ejection-associated particle acceleration observed by Solar Orbiter and ACE
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Walsh A
(2013)
An indication of the existence of a solar wind strahl at 10 AU
in Geophysical Research Letters
Walsh A
(2020)
Coordination of the in situ payload of Solar Orbiter
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Wang J
(2025)
Alpha-Proton Relative Drift: Implications for the Origins and Dynamics of the Solar Wind
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Wang X
(2024)
Temperature Intermittent Structures in the Fast Solar Wind
in The Astrophysical Journal
Wei W
(2024)
Very Large and Long-lasting Anisotropies Caused by Sunward Streaming Energetic Ions: Solar Orbiter and STEREO A Observations
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Wimmer-Schweingruber R
(2022)
STELLA-Potential European contributions to a NASA-led interstellar probe
in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences
Yang L
(2024)
Dynamic acceleration of energetic protons by an interplanetary collisionless shock
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Yardley S
(2024)
Multi-source connectivity as the driver of solar wind variability in the heliosphere
in Nature Astronomy
Zank G
(2021)
Turbulence transport in the solar corona: Theory, modeling, and Parker Solar Probe
in Physics of Plasmas
Zaslavsky A
(2024)
Probing Turbulent Scattering Effects on Suprathermal Electrons in the Solar Wind: Modeling, Observations, and Implications
in The Astrophysical Journal
Zhang H
(2024)
The Impact of Non-Equilibrium Plasma Distributions on Solar Wind Measurements by Vigil's Plasma Analyser
in Space Weather
Zhao L
(2025)
Transonic Turbulence and Density Fluctuations in the Near-Sun Solar Wind
in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Zhuang B
(2024)
Acceleration and Release of Solar Energetic Particles Associated with a Coronal Shock on 2021 September 28 Observed by Four Spacecraft
in The Astrophysical Journal
Zhuang B
(2024)
Combining STEREO heliospheric imagers and Solar Orbiter to investigate the evolution of the 2022 March 10 CME
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Zouganelis I
(2020)
The Solar Orbiter Science Activity Plan Translating solar and heliospheric physics questions into action
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Ĺ tverák Ĺ
(2025)
Effects of cold electron emissions on thermal plasma measurements on board Solar Orbiter spacecraft
in Astronomy & Astrophysics
| Description | This grant funded the assessment of the design for the UCL/MSSL prototype for the electron sensor for the Solar Orbiter SWA suite of sensors. This work led to the confirmation of the mission and the instruments by ESA. |
| Exploitation Route | This work has fed into the development work for the instrument which will be included in the scientific payload for Solar Orbiter and launched in 2017. Development of certain subsystems (e.g. miniature high-voltage generators) can be used for further space and ground based applications. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Electronics |
| Description | Findings have been fed into the design and ongoing construction of the SWA electron sensor for Solar Orbiter, following confirmation of the mission in 2011. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2011 |
| Sector | Aerospace, Defence and Marine |
| Description | SWA Consortium |
| Organisation | Charles University |
| Department | Faculty of Mathematics and Physics |
| Country | Czech Republic |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We (UCL/MSSL) are the Principle Investigator Institution for the Solar Orbiter SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) suite of instruments, with responsibility for leading and managing the whole of the international consortium. As well as scientific and technical leadership of the entire suite, UCL/MSSL is responsible for the specific design and build of the the Electron Analyser System (EAS). |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are directly collaborating with LPP on the provision of an electron analyser system (EAS) for Solar Orbiter. We will contribute an FPGA to the Proton-Alpha Sensor (PAS), the design and build of which is the responsibility of the French IRAP team. the czech group will also contribute to PAS. IRAP will collaborate with the US groups on the design and build of the Heavy ion sensor (HIS). |
| Impact | We are now in the build phase of the project. This collection of grants has supported the study, assessment and definition phases of the project as well as providing support for developing the original proposal and securing the leadership of the consortium. The consortium successfully passed its European Space Agency Preliminary Design Review in Summer 2012. The Critical Design Review will be held in Oct/Nov 2013. The structural and thermal models of the instruments are also nearing completion for delivery in summer 2013. Many hundreds of consortium documents have been generated over this time. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | SWA Consortium |
| Organisation | Laboratory of Plasma Physics (LPP) |
| Country | Belgium |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We (UCL/MSSL) are the Principle Investigator Institution for the Solar Orbiter SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) suite of instruments, with responsibility for leading and managing the whole of the international consortium. As well as scientific and technical leadership of the entire suite, UCL/MSSL is responsible for the specific design and build of the the Electron Analyser System (EAS). |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are directly collaborating with LPP on the provision of an electron analyser system (EAS) for Solar Orbiter. We will contribute an FPGA to the Proton-Alpha Sensor (PAS), the design and build of which is the responsibility of the French IRAP team. the czech group will also contribute to PAS. IRAP will collaborate with the US groups on the design and build of the Heavy ion sensor (HIS). |
| Impact | We are now in the build phase of the project. This collection of grants has supported the study, assessment and definition phases of the project as well as providing support for developing the original proposal and securing the leadership of the consortium. The consortium successfully passed its European Space Agency Preliminary Design Review in Summer 2012. The Critical Design Review will be held in Oct/Nov 2013. The structural and thermal models of the instruments are also nearing completion for delivery in summer 2013. Many hundreds of consortium documents have been generated over this time. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | SWA Consortium |
| Organisation | National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) |
| Department | Goddard Space Flight Center |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | We (UCL/MSSL) are the Principle Investigator Institution for the Solar Orbiter SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) suite of instruments, with responsibility for leading and managing the whole of the international consortium. As well as scientific and technical leadership of the entire suite, UCL/MSSL is responsible for the specific design and build of the the Electron Analyser System (EAS). |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are directly collaborating with LPP on the provision of an electron analyser system (EAS) for Solar Orbiter. We will contribute an FPGA to the Proton-Alpha Sensor (PAS), the design and build of which is the responsibility of the French IRAP team. the czech group will also contribute to PAS. IRAP will collaborate with the US groups on the design and build of the Heavy ion sensor (HIS). |
| Impact | We are now in the build phase of the project. This collection of grants has supported the study, assessment and definition phases of the project as well as providing support for developing the original proposal and securing the leadership of the consortium. The consortium successfully passed its European Space Agency Preliminary Design Review in Summer 2012. The Critical Design Review will be held in Oct/Nov 2013. The structural and thermal models of the instruments are also nearing completion for delivery in summer 2013. Many hundreds of consortium documents have been generated over this time. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | SWA Consortium |
| Organisation | National Research Council |
| Department | Institute of Interplanetary Space Physics |
| Country | Italy |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We (UCL/MSSL) are the Principle Investigator Institution for the Solar Orbiter SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) suite of instruments, with responsibility for leading and managing the whole of the international consortium. As well as scientific and technical leadership of the entire suite, UCL/MSSL is responsible for the specific design and build of the the Electron Analyser System (EAS). |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are directly collaborating with LPP on the provision of an electron analyser system (EAS) for Solar Orbiter. We will contribute an FPGA to the Proton-Alpha Sensor (PAS), the design and build of which is the responsibility of the French IRAP team. the czech group will also contribute to PAS. IRAP will collaborate with the US groups on the design and build of the Heavy ion sensor (HIS). |
| Impact | We are now in the build phase of the project. This collection of grants has supported the study, assessment and definition phases of the project as well as providing support for developing the original proposal and securing the leadership of the consortium. The consortium successfully passed its European Space Agency Preliminary Design Review in Summer 2012. The Critical Design Review will be held in Oct/Nov 2013. The structural and thermal models of the instruments are also nearing completion for delivery in summer 2013. Many hundreds of consortium documents have been generated over this time. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | SWA Consortium |
| Organisation | Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology |
| Country | France |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We (UCL/MSSL) are the Principle Investigator Institution for the Solar Orbiter SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) suite of instruments, with responsibility for leading and managing the whole of the international consortium. As well as scientific and technical leadership of the entire suite, UCL/MSSL is responsible for the specific design and build of the the Electron Analyser System (EAS). |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are directly collaborating with LPP on the provision of an electron analyser system (EAS) for Solar Orbiter. We will contribute an FPGA to the Proton-Alpha Sensor (PAS), the design and build of which is the responsibility of the French IRAP team. the czech group will also contribute to PAS. IRAP will collaborate with the US groups on the design and build of the Heavy ion sensor (HIS). |
| Impact | We are now in the build phase of the project. This collection of grants has supported the study, assessment and definition phases of the project as well as providing support for developing the original proposal and securing the leadership of the consortium. The consortium successfully passed its European Space Agency Preliminary Design Review in Summer 2012. The Critical Design Review will be held in Oct/Nov 2013. The structural and thermal models of the instruments are also nearing completion for delivery in summer 2013. Many hundreds of consortium documents have been generated over this time. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | SWA Consortium |
| Organisation | Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) |
| Department | Space Research |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We (UCL/MSSL) are the Principle Investigator Institution for the Solar Orbiter SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) suite of instruments, with responsibility for leading and managing the whole of the international consortium. As well as scientific and technical leadership of the entire suite, UCL/MSSL is responsible for the specific design and build of the the Electron Analyser System (EAS). |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are directly collaborating with LPP on the provision of an electron analyser system (EAS) for Solar Orbiter. We will contribute an FPGA to the Proton-Alpha Sensor (PAS), the design and build of which is the responsibility of the French IRAP team. the czech group will also contribute to PAS. IRAP will collaborate with the US groups on the design and build of the Heavy ion sensor (HIS). |
| Impact | We are now in the build phase of the project. This collection of grants has supported the study, assessment and definition phases of the project as well as providing support for developing the original proposal and securing the leadership of the consortium. The consortium successfully passed its European Space Agency Preliminary Design Review in Summer 2012. The Critical Design Review will be held in Oct/Nov 2013. The structural and thermal models of the instruments are also nearing completion for delivery in summer 2013. Many hundreds of consortium documents have been generated over this time. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | SWA Consortium |
| Organisation | University of Michigan |
| Department | Space Research Building (SRB) |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We (UCL/MSSL) are the Principle Investigator Institution for the Solar Orbiter SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) suite of instruments, with responsibility for leading and managing the whole of the international consortium. As well as scientific and technical leadership of the entire suite, UCL/MSSL is responsible for the specific design and build of the the Electron Analyser System (EAS). |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are directly collaborating with LPP on the provision of an electron analyser system (EAS) for Solar Orbiter. We will contribute an FPGA to the Proton-Alpha Sensor (PAS), the design and build of which is the responsibility of the French IRAP team. the czech group will also contribute to PAS. IRAP will collaborate with the US groups on the design and build of the Heavy ion sensor (HIS). |
| Impact | We are now in the build phase of the project. This collection of grants has supported the study, assessment and definition phases of the project as well as providing support for developing the original proposal and securing the leadership of the consortium. The consortium successfully passed its European Space Agency Preliminary Design Review in Summer 2012. The Critical Design Review will be held in Oct/Nov 2013. The structural and thermal models of the instruments are also nearing completion for delivery in summer 2013. Many hundreds of consortium documents have been generated over this time. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Description | SWA Consortium |
| Organisation | University of New Hampshire |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | We (UCL/MSSL) are the Principle Investigator Institution for the Solar Orbiter SWA (Solar Wind Analyser) suite of instruments, with responsibility for leading and managing the whole of the international consortium. As well as scientific and technical leadership of the entire suite, UCL/MSSL is responsible for the specific design and build of the the Electron Analyser System (EAS). |
| Collaborator Contribution | We are directly collaborating with LPP on the provision of an electron analyser system (EAS) for Solar Orbiter. We will contribute an FPGA to the Proton-Alpha Sensor (PAS), the design and build of which is the responsibility of the French IRAP team. the czech group will also contribute to PAS. IRAP will collaborate with the US groups on the design and build of the Heavy ion sensor (HIS). |
| Impact | We are now in the build phase of the project. This collection of grants has supported the study, assessment and definition phases of the project as well as providing support for developing the original proposal and securing the leadership of the consortium. The consortium successfully passed its European Space Agency Preliminary Design Review in Summer 2012. The Critical Design Review will be held in Oct/Nov 2013. The structural and thermal models of the instruments are also nearing completion for delivery in summer 2013. Many hundreds of consortium documents have been generated over this time. |
| Start Year | 2006 |
| Title | SWA/EAS Prototype |
| Description | Development culminated in 2012 after many years work supported by a number of Solar Orbiter-related grants. The new analyser for Solar Orbiter incorporates novel features: i) Aperture deflection system ii) Variable Geometric Factor iii) Miniaturised HV and other electronic systems Charged particle detectors |
| Type Of Technology | Detection Devices |
| Year Produced | 2012 |
| Impact | Prototype meets challenging mass and power restrictions for the mission while maintaining, indeed improving, scientific performance. Potential applications for Space Weather related activities. Subsystems (e.g. mini-HV supplies) of potential in a wide ra |