BackForwardInstrument:  PET 

Instrument details
Acronym PET
Full name Proton/Electron Telescope
Purpose To monitor energy spectra and relative composition of solar electrons, protons and He nuclei
Short description Spectrometer for the energy spectra and relative composition of protons (18-250 MeV), helium nuclei (18-350 MeV/n) and C, SI and Fe ions (34-270 MeV/n) of solar, interplanetary and galactic origins, the energy spectra of solar flare and precipitating electrons from about 0.4 to about 30 MeV
Background New development
Scanning Technique Sun pointing
Resolution N/A
Coverage / Cycle N/A
Mass 7.5 kg Power 1.2 W Data Rate 0.5 kbps

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1992 to 2012
Last update: 2022-07-26
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 3
  • Neutral and Ion Mass Spectrometer
  • Energetic Neutral Atom spectrometer [from LEO and HEO]
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Alpha particles differential directional flux
  • Electron differential directional flux
  • Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum
  • Proton 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, medium and high energy (over 40 to over 400 keV)
Proton differential directional flux*3 - highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space, high energy (over 1000 keV)
Alpha particles differential directional flux*2 - very highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Medium-high energy (over 10 to >100 MeV/n)
Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum*4 - fairNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Medium-high energy (over 10 to >100 MeV/n)