WMO OSCAR | Details for Instrument IMPACT/SEP

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Instrument: IMPACT/SEP

Instrument details

Acronym	IMPACT/SEP
Full name	IMPACT / Solar Energetic Particles
Purpose	Observation of solar electrons, protons and heavier ions
Short description	Package of 4 separate instruments to measure electrons, protons and heavier ions from several tens of keV to approximately 100 MeV: Solar Electron Proton Telescope (SEPT), Suprathermal Ion Telescope (SIT), Low Energy Telescope (LET), High Energy Telescope (HET). Energy ranges: electrons: 20-40 keV (flux) and 0.2-5 MeV (spectrum); protons: 0.02-7 MeV (flux) and 0.02-100 MeV (spectrum); alpha-particle spectrum: 0.12-400 MeV; ions spectrum: 0.03-30 MeV/n for Z from 3 to 26
Background	Part of the IMPACT (In-situ Measurements of Particles and CME Transients) instrument package
Scanning Technique	Interplanetary space observation from two variable positions along the Earth’s orbit around the Sun to implement stereoscopy
Resolution	N/A
Coverage / Cycle	Full interplanetary spece
Mass		Power	Data Rate

Detailed characteristics

Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Solar-TErrestrial RElations Observatory (NASA)
- STEREO-B (see instrument status) Jan 2007 - Oct 2014
- STEREO-A (see instrument status) Jan 2007 - 2025

Instrument classification

WIGOS Subcomponents

Subcomponent 2
Solar wind in situ plasma and energetic particles and magnetic field off the Earth-Sun line
Electron sensor [at solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Proton sensor [at solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Alpha-particle sensor [at solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Heavy ion sensor [at solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Solar wind density sensor [at solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Solar wind temperature sensor [at solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Solar wind velocity sensor [at solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Subcomponent 3
Solar coronal magnetic field imagery, solar wind beyond L1
Electron sensor [from solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Proton sensor [from solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Alpha-particle sensor [from solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Heavy ion sensor [from solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Solar wind density sensor [from solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Solar wind temperature sensor [from solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Solar wind velocity sensor [from solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]

Mission objectives

Primary mission objectives

Evaluation of Measurements

Variable	Relevance for measuring this variable	Operational limitations	Explanation
Proton integral directional flux	1 - primary	No specific limitation.	Cluster flown through the magnetosphere, high energy (over 1000 keV)
Solar wind density	1 - primary	No specific limitation.	Interplanetary space. Infrerred from Proton. Electron and Alpha-particle spectroscopy
Solar wind temperature	1 - primary	No specific limitation.	Interplanetary space. Infrerred from Proton. Electron and Alpha-particle spectroscopy
Solar wind velocity	1 - primary	No specific limitation.	Interplanetary space. Infrerred from Proton. Electron and Alpha-particle spectroscopy
Alpha particles differential directional flux*	2 - very high	No specific limitation.	Interplanetary space. Low-medium energy range (<10 up to 100 MeV/n)
Electron integral directional flux	3 - high	No specific limitation.	Interplanetary space, low, medium and high energy (up to over 400 keV)
Electron differential directional flux*	3 - high	No specific limitation.	Interplanetary space, low, medium and high energy (up to over 400 keV)
Proton differential directional flux*	3 - high	No specific limitation.	Interplanetary space, high energy (over 1000 keV)
Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum*	4 - fair	No specific limitation.	Interplanetary space. Low-medium energy range (<10 up to 100 MeV/n)