Tianwen-1 MINPA observations in the solar wind
| Title: | Tianwen-1 MINPA observations in the solar wind |
|---|---|
| Authors: | AiBing Zhang, LingGao Kong, WenYa Li, Lei Li, BinBin Tang, ZhaoJin Rong, Yong Wei, JiJie Ma, YiTeng Zhang, LiangHai Xie, YuXian Wang, JianSen He, Bin Liu, WenJing Wang, Bin Su, JiaWei Li, Xu Tan, Fang Wang, TaiFeng Jin, FuHao Qiao, Peter Wurz, Yan Zhu, YunFei Bai, YiRen Li, XinBo Zhu, YueQiang Sun, YongLiao Zou, Chi Wang |
| Source: | Earth and Planetary Physics, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2022) |
| Publisher Information: | Science Press, 2022. |
| Publication Year: | 2022 |
| Collection: | LCC:Science LCC:Geophysics. Cosmic physics LCC:Environmental sciences |
| Subject Terms: | minpa, tianwen-1, solar wind, capsule blocking effect, Science, Geophysics. Cosmic physics, QC801-809, Environmental sciences, GE1-350 |
| More Details: | The Mars Ion and Neutral Particle Analyzer (MINPA) is one of the three scientific instruments onboard the Tianwen-1 orbiter to investigate the Martian space environment. During Tianwen-1’s transfer orbit to Mars, the MINPA was switched on to measure the solar wind ions. Here, we present the first results of the MINPA observations in the solar wind. During cruise, nearly half of the MINPA ion field-of-view (FOV) was blocked by the lander capsule; thus only the solar-wind ions with azimuthal speeds pointing towards the unblocked FOV sectors could be detected. We perform a detailed comparison of the MINPA’s solar wind observations with data from Earth-based missions when MINPA reached its count-rate peak, finding a general consistency of the ion moments between them. The blocking effect due to the lander is evaluated quantitatively under varying solar-wind velocity conditions. Despite the blocking effect, the MINPA’s solar wind measurements during the transfer orbit suggest a good performance. |
| Document Type: | article |
| File Description: | electronic resource |
| Language: | English |
| ISSN: | 2096-3955 |
| Relation: | https://doaj.org/toc/2096-3955 |
| DOI: | 10.26464/epp2022014?pageType=en |
| DOI: | 10.26464/epp2022014 |
| Access URL: | https://doaj.org/article/a1e970eba9304c8aa11912a211fdd77b |
| Accession Number: | edsdoj.1e970eba9304c8aa11912a211fdd77b |
| Database: | Directory of Open Access Journals |
| ISSN: | 20963955 |
|---|---|
| DOI: | 10.26464/epp2022014?pageType=en |
| Published in: | Earth and Planetary Physics |
| Language: | English |