BackForwardInstrument:  IMPACT/STE 

Instrument details
Acronym IMPACT/STE
Full name IMPACT / Suprathermal Electron Telescope
Purpose Electron spectrometry with approximately 50 times the sensitivity of previous instruments
Short description Assemblage of passively cooled SSDs (Silicon Semiconductor Devices) that measure all energies simultaneously. There are two detector arrays of four SSDs in a row, Energy range 2-20 keV
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 Near full interplanetary space, continuous monitoring
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2007 to 2025
Last update: 2021-12-16
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

Instrument classification
  • Solar and space environment monitors
  • Energetic particle spectrometer
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]
  • Subcomponent 3
  • Solar coronal magnetic field imagery, solar wind beyond L1
  • Electron sensor [from solar orbit, ecliptic, L5]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Electron differential directional flux
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Electron differential directional flux*3 - highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space, low energy (up to 40 keV)