In a space plasma, exposed to ionizing radiation, a conducting object like a spacecraft will generate a net charge as the relevant currents from the plasma and photoelectrons attempt to reach equilibrium over time. This net charging is measured (or inferred from particle measurements) as an electrostatic potential, called the spacecraft potential. The Wind spacecraft will be 30 years old on November 1, 2023 and as such, has one of the longest baselines of continuous spacecraft potential measurements of any space mission. We determine the spacecraft potential from observations of photoelectrons in the thermal particle data. We examine the variations over time finding oscillations that correlate with solar rotation. This preliminary study examines for other effects but is ultimately for the purpose of generating a properly calibrated velocity moment dataset for the entire Wind mission.
The Spacecraft Potential of Wind Over Time
65th Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics ; 2023 ; Denver, CO, US
Conference paper
No indication
English
Online Contents | 1995
|NTIS | 2004
|NTIS | 2001
|Wind spacecraft readied for launch
Online Contents | 1994