Exploring planetary magnetic environments using magnetically unclean spacecraft: a systems approach to VEX MAG data analysis
In situ measurements of the magnetic field are vital to the study of many fundamental problems in planetary research. Therefore the magnetometer experiment is a key element of the payload of Venus Express. In addition to the interaction of the solar wind with Venus, these measurements are crucial...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2011-04-01
|
| Series: | Annales Geophysicae |
| Online Access: | https://www.ann-geophys.net/29/639/2011/angeo-29-639-2011.pdf |
| Summary: | In situ measurements of the magnetic field are vital to the study of many
fundamental problems in planetary research. Therefore the magnetometer
experiment is a key element of the payload of Venus Express. In addition to
the interaction of the solar wind with Venus, these measurements are crucial
for the study of atmospheric escape and detection of lightning. However, the
methodology for the magnetic field measurements had to be different to the
traditional approach, because Venus Express is not a magnetically clean
spacecraft. A technique based on two-point simultaneous measurements of the
magnetic field and systems identification software is used to separate the
natural magnetic field from the spacecraft generated interference. In this
paper an overview of the techniques developed to separate these two field
types and the results achieved for 1 Hz Venus Express data are presented.
Previous publications suggest that the resulting Venus Express cleaned data
is of comparable quality to measurements made from onboard magnetically
clean spacecraft (Zhang et al., 2008a, b; Slavin et al., 2009). |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0992-7689 1432-0576 |