BackForwardInstrument:  SEPICA  

Instrument details
Acronym SEPICA
Full name Solar Energetic Particle Ionic Charge Analyzer
Purpose To measure the ionic charge state Q, the energy E, and the nuclear charge Z, for energies above 0.2 MeV/n
Short description Energetic particles entering the multi-slit collimator are electrostatically deflected between six sets of electrode plates which are supplied with variable high voltages up to 30 kV. The deflection, which is inversely proportional to energy per charge, E/Q, is determined in the back portion of the instrument. Z ranging from 2 to 26. Energy range: 0.1-18 MeV/n for Z>2, 0.3-6 Mev/n for alpha-particles
Background Part of a package of instruments for solar observation
Scanning Technique Sun pointing from the L1 Lagrange libration point
Resolution N/A (full disk)
Coverage / Cycle Full Sun disk, nearly continuous
Mass 28.6 kg Power 16 W Data Rate 600 bps

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1997 to 2005
Last update: 2021-11-10
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 1
  • Solar wind in situ plasma and energetic particles, magnetic field, at L1
  • Solar wind at L1 - Alpha-particle sensor
  • Solar wind at L1 - Heavy ion sensor
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Alpha particles differential directional flux
  • Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum
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
Alpha particles differential directional flux*1 - primaryNo specific limitation.Sun-pointing. Low-medium energy range (<10 up to 100 MeV/n)
Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum*3 - highNo specific limitation.Sun-pointing. Low-medium energy range (<10 up to 100 MeV/n)