Outer Radiation Belt Injection, Transport, Acceleration and Loss Satellite
Despite the fact that the Van Allen radiation belts were discovered and probed by the first satellites over 40 years ago, the processes responsible for the injection, transport, acceleration and loss of radiation belt and ring current particles remain far from understood. Distinguishing between the competing theories for radiation belt energization and loss form the science focus of the ORBITALS mission.
There are few places in the magnetosphere where our knowledge of fundamental physical processes is as limited as it is in the inner magnetosphere. This region is extremely under-sampled by previous missions, and the only well-instrumented missions which have been flown (such as CRRES) have been significantly disadvantaged scientifically by the general absence of a of high cadence upstream solar wind monitor.
The ORBITALS mission will address the following specific objectives:
PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:- Understand the dynamical variation of outer radiation belt electron flux, including determining the dominant acceleration and loss processes.
- Understand the dynamical behaviour of inner zone radiation belt particle fluxes.
- Understand the structure of global inner magnetospheric electric and magnetic fields.
- Understand the core ion composition of the outer plasmasphere, plasmapause and plasmatrough regions and its dynamics during storms.
- Understand the dynamical behavior of the strength, asymmetry, and composition of the ring current in the inner magnetosphere.
The new fundamental understanding resulting fromthese objectives will lead directly to improved spaceweather specification models and hence to themitigation of space weather effects in the design ofoperational satellites.
