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The Living with a Star Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission and Related Missions of OpportunityThis presentation provides an overview of the Living With a Star (LWS) Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission in the context of the broader Geospace program. Missions to Geospace offer an opportunity to observe in situ the fundamental processes that operate throughout the solar system and in particular those that generate hazardous space weather effects in the vicinity of Earth. The recently selected investigations on NASA's LWS program's RBSP will provide the measurements needed to characterize and quantify the processes that supply and remove energetic particles from the Earth's Van Allen radiation belts. Instruments on the RBSP spacecraft will observe charged particles that comprise the Earth's radiation belts over the full energy range from 1 eV to more than 10 MeV (including composition), the plasma waves which energize them, the electric fields which transport them, and the magnetic fields which guide their motion. The two-point measurements by the RBSP spacecraft will enable researchers to discriminate between spatial and temporal effects, and therefore between the various proposed mechanisms for particle acceleration and loss. The measurements taken by the RBSP spacecraft will be used in data modeling projects in order to improve the understanding of these fundamental processes and allow better predictions to be made. NASA's LWS program has also recently selected three teams to study concepts for Missions of Opportunity that will augment the RBSP program, by (1) providing an instrument for a Canadian spacecraft in the Earth's radiation belts, (2) quantifying the flux of particles precipitating into the Earth's atmosphere from the Earth's radiation belts, and (3) remotely sensing both spatial and temporal variations in the Earth's ionosphere and thermosphere.
Document ID
20080039330
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Sibeck, David G.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Mauk, Barry H.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Grebowsky, Joseph M.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Fox, Nicola J.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
December 11, 2006
Subject Category
Space Sciences (General)
Meeting Information
Meeting: 2006 American Geophysical Union meeting
Location: San Francisco, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: December 11, 2006
End Date: December 15, 2006
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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