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Instrument: SWE
Instrument details
Acronym
SWE
Full name
Solar Wind Experiment
Purpose
To measure ions and electrons in the solar wind and the foreshock regions.
Short description
Assemblage of several units including two Faraday cup ion detectors to measure the solar wind protons and alpha particles at energy/charge up to 8 keV. Energy ranges: 0.005-22 keV (electrons), 0.007-22 keV (protons), and 0.14-44 keV/n (ions with Z from 2 to 26)
Background
Part of a package of instruments to observe the solar wind
Scanning Technique
Interplanetary space observation from the L1 Lagrange libration point
Resolution
N/A
Coverage / Cycle
Nearly full interplanetary space
Mass
Power
Data Rate
Providing Agency
NASA
Instrument Maturity
Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period:
1995-02-15 to ≥2022
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 at L1 - Electron sensor Solar wind at L1 - Proton sensor Solar wind at L1 - Alpha-particle sensor Solar wind at L1 - Heavy ion sensor Solar wind at L1 - Plasma density sensor Solar wind at L1 - Plasma temperature sensor Solar wind at L1 - Plasma velocity sensor
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives Solar wind density Solar wind temperature Solar wind velocity
Secondary mission objectives Alpha particles differential directional flux Electron differential directional flux Heavy ion angular flux energy and mass spectrum Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum Proton differential directional flux Show all Show fewer
Tentative 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