Advanced Composition Explorer

Infobox_Spacecraft
Name = Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)


Caption = An artist's concept of ACE
Organization = NASA
Major_Contractors =
Mission_Type = Orbiter
Satellite_Of = Earth
Orbital_Insertion_Date =
Launch = August 25 1997
Launch_Vehicle = Delta II
Decay =
Mission_Duration = 8-25-1997 to late 2022
NSSDC_ID = 1997-045A
Webpage = [http://www.srl.caltech.edu/ACE/ Advanced Composition Explorer Home]
Mass = 596 kilograms (1,313 lb)
Power = 44 Watts
Orbital_elements = 4.68
Semimajor_Axis = 2.57
Eccentricity = 0.98967
Inclination = 28.7°
Orbital_Period = 1,398 hours (58.25 days)
Apoapsis = 1,256,768 kilometers (780,919 mi)
Periapsis = 179 kilometers (111 mi)
Orbits =

Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is a space exploration mission being conducted as part of the Explorer program to study matter "in situ", comprising energetic particles from the solar wind, the interplanetary medium, and other sources. The ACE robotic spacecraft was launched August 25 1997 and is currently operating in a Lissajous orbit close to the L1 Lagrange point (which lies between the Sun and the Earth at a distance of some 1.5 million km from the latter).

Instrumentation

Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS): CRIS determines the isotope composition of galactic cosmic rays. It designed to be sensitive enough to detect isotopes up to the range of zinc (Z-30). [cite web | date = 5 September 1997 | url = http://www.srl.caltech.edu/ACE/CRIS_SIS/cris.html | title = CRIS: The Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer | accessmonthday=30 June | accessyear = 2006]

ACE Real Time Solar Wind (RTSW):

Solar Wind Ion Mass Spectrometer (SWIMS) and Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS): These two instruments are time-of-flight mass spectrometers, each tuned for a different set of measurements. They analyze the chemical and isotopic composition of solar wind and interstellar matter. [cite web | url = http://solar-heliospheric.engin.umich.edu/ace/ | title = ACE/SWICS & ACE/SWIMS | publisher = The Solar and Heliospheric Research Group | accessmonthday=30 June | accessyear = 2006]

Ultra-Low Energy Isotope Spectrometer (ULEIS): ULEIS measures ion flux and is sensitive to a range from helium through nickel to determine the makeup of solar energetic particles and the mechanism by which the particles become charged by the sun. [cite web|date = November 1 2005 | url = http://sd-www.jhuapl.edu/ACE/ULEIS/ | title = The ACE/ULEIS Homepage | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory | accessmonthday=30 June | accessyear = 2006]

Solar Energetic Particle Ionic Charge Analyzer (SEPICA):

Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS):

Solar Wind Electron, Proton and Alpha Monitor (SWEPAM):

Electron, Proton, and Alpha-particle Monitor (EPAM):

Magnetometer (MAG):

References

External links

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