IMAGE (from I
mager for M
agnetopause-to-A
urora G
lobal E
xploration), or Explorer 78, was a
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
MIDEX mission that studied the global response of the
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
's
magnetosphereA magnetosphere is a highly magnetized region around and possessed by an astronomical object. Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere, as are the magnetized planets Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Jupiter's moon Ganymede is magnetized, but too weak to trap solar wind plasma. Mars has...
to changes in the
solar windThe solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun. It consists mostly of electrons and protons with energies of about 1 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed with the passage of time...
. It was launched March 25, 2000 by a
Delta IIDelta II is a space launch system originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and has been in service since 1989...
rocket from
Vandenberg AFBVandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is also a census-designated place with a population of 6,151 as of the 2000 census. The base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General...
and ceased operations in
December 2005-Portal:Current events:...
.
The IMAGE craft was placed in a 1,000×46,000 km
orbitIn physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body, for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star....
around the Earth, with an
inclinationInclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.- Orbits :The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
of 90° (passing over the
poleA geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
s) and a 14.2 hour period.
IMAGE (from I
mager for M
agnetopause-to-A
urora G
lobal E
xploration), or Explorer 78, was a
NASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
MIDEX mission that studied the global response of the
EarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun. It is the fifth largest of the eight planets in the solar system, and the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in terms of diameter, mass and density...
's
magnetosphereA magnetosphere is a highly magnetized region around and possessed by an astronomical object. Earth is surrounded by a magnetosphere, as are the magnetized planets Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Jupiter's moon Ganymede is magnetized, but too weak to trap solar wind plasma. Mars has...
to changes in the
solar windThe solar wind is a stream of charged particles ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun. It consists mostly of electrons and protons with energies of about 1 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed with the passage of time...
. It was launched March 25, 2000 by a
Delta IIDelta II is a space launch system originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and has been in service since 1989...
rocket from
Vandenberg AFBVandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It is also a census-designated place with a population of 6,151 as of the 2000 census. The base is named in honor of former Air Force Chief of Staff General...
and ceased operations in
December 2005-Portal:Current events:...
.
The IMAGE craft was placed in a 1,000×46,000 km
orbitIn physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body, for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star....
around the Earth, with an
inclinationInclination in general is the angle between a reference plane and another plane or axis of direction.- Orbits :The inclination is one of the six orbital parameters describing the shape and orientation of a celestial orbit...
of 90° (passing over the
poleA geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
s) and a 14.2 hour period. IMAGE was the first spacecraft dedicated to observing the magnetosphere of the Earth, and it produced comprehensive global
imagesImaging is the representation or reproduction of an object's outward form; especially a visual representation .-Imaging methodologies and technologies:*Chemical imaging, the simultaneous measurement of spectra and pictures...
of
plasmaIn physics and chemistry, plasma is a partially ionized gas, in which a certain proportion of electrons are free rather than being bound to an atom or molecule. The ability of the positive and negative charges to move somewhat independently makes the plasma electrically conductive so that it...
in the inner magnetosphere. It did this using five
instrumentIn the physical sciences, quality assurance, and engineering, measurement is the activity of obtaining and comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. Established standard objects and events are used as units, and the measurement results in a given number for the relationship...
s:
- Neutral Atom Imagers
Neutral Atom Imaging is a technique used on the IMAGE spacecraft to image magnetospheric and ionospheric plasma populations. Neutral atom imaging works thanks to a process known as charge-exchange ionization...
(LENA, MENA, HENA)
- Far-Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than x-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
(FUV) Imaging System
- Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Imager
- Radio Plasma
An astrophysical plasma is a plasma the physical properties of which are studied as part of astrophysics. Much of the baryonic matter of the universe is thought to consist of plasma, a state of matter in which atoms and molecules are so hot, that they have ionized by breaking up into their...
Imager (RPI)
- Central Instrument Data Processor (CIDP)
The CIDP as well as the Command & Data Handling Subsystem (main on-board computer) of the craft were built around the mission-proven
RAD6000The RAD6000 radiation-hardened single board computer, based on the IBM RISC Single Chip CPU, was manufactured by IBM Federal Systems. IBM Federal Systems was sold to Loral, and by way of acquisition, ended up with Lockheed Martin and is currently a part of BAE Systems...
avionicsAvionics means "aviation electronics". It comprises electronic systems for use on aircraft, artificial satellites and spacecraft, comprising communications, navigation and the display and management of multiple systems...
processors.
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