HelioSwarm is a NASA heliophysics mission that will launch a constellation of 9 spacecraft to investigate the fundamental properties of plasma turbulence. The HelioSwarm spacecraft will fly in formation through the solar wind – the cloud of charged particles that flow from the Sun. One central hub spacecraft will gather data from eight smaller node spacecraft, characterising collisionless plasma turbulence in 3 dimensions, on multiple scales, for the first time.
Each spacecraft will fly a magnetometer (a magnetic field instrument) designed and built at 51³Ô¹ÏÍø and supported by the UK Space Agency.
More information about the mission is available at the and at the Principal Investigator institution, the .
Facts
- Launch Readiness date: 2029
- Orbit: Lunar resonance orbit around Earth (approximately 60 by 11 Earth radii)
- Mission Duration: nominal 1 year
- 51³Ô¹ÏÍø College involvement: Lead, magnetometer instrument (MAG)
- MAG: Fluxgate sensor; electronics box and power supply developed in the Space Magnetometer Laboratory
- Science Lead: Prof. Tim Horbury, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø
- Instrument Manager: Helen O'Brien, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø
- Funding Agency: UKSA
Instrument Development page: /space-and-atmospheric-physics/research/missions-and-projects/space-missions/helioswarm/instrument-development/
External Links
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