Space Science and Engineering
ver the last decade, Southwest Research Institutes
space science program has expanded significantly,
encompassing the development of five spacecraft
missions whose scope ranges from the Earths magnetosphere
to the outer boundaries of the solar system.
The Interstellar Boundary Explorer spacecraft, set for launch
in July 2008, will make the first images of the complex and highly
dynamic region that separates our solar system from interstellar
space ([Link]). The payload has been developed, assem-
bled, tested and integrated with the spacecraft and is undergoing
testing before delivery to the launch site in early 2008.
SwRI is leading the development of Juno, the first solar-
powered spacecraft to visit Jupiter and the first Jupiter spacecraft
in polar orbit ([Link]). As part of its instrument suite, Juno
carries our Jovian Auroral Distributions Experiment and Juno
Ultraviolet Spectrograph. Launch is scheduled for 2011.
SwRI received approval from NASA to proceed with the
implementation of the science investigation for the
Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, which will use Earths mag-
netosphere as a laboratory in which to examine definitively the
fundamental process called magnetic reconnection, which occurs
around Earth as well as in remote astrophysical systems not
accessible to direct measurement ([Link]). MMS is
slated for launch in 2013.
Following its flyby of Jupiter, the New Horizons spacecraft
traveled more than 100 million miles farther than any other
spacecraft down the planets giant magnetotail, where our Solar
Wind Around Pluto instrument revealed the diverse, highly struc-
tured plasmas that populate this enormous volume of space
([Link]). Since then, New Horizons has entered its first
hibernation, which will be repeated annually for most of the
remaining journey to Pluto.
Three years after arriving at Saturn, the Cassini spacecraft con-
tinues to generate exciting new data about the planet, its rings and
its moons ([Link]). Using the SwRI-developed Cassini
Plasma Spectrometer, researchers found that its moons, Tethys and
Dione, are flinging streams of particles into space, establishing the
moons as important sources of plasma in Saturns magnetosphere.
In addition, combined CAPS and Ion and Neutral Mass
Spectrometer data sets revealed that organic aerosols, or tholins,
form in Titans atmosphere at altitudes greater than 1,000
kilometers higher than previously believed.
Under contract to Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., we
built avionics for NextSat, one of two satellites for the successful
Orbital Express mission developed for the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency. SwRI avionics systems are also flying on
the recently launched WorldView-1 remote-sensing satellite and
Kepler, a NASA Discovery probe aimed at finding Earth-size and
smaller planets.
An SwRI researcher developed a method of forecasting the
arrival time and intensity of hazardous energetic ions released in
solar storms. This method, which uses the detection of electrons of
Scheduled for launch in 2013, MMS will explore the
plasma processes that govern the interaction of the Earths
magnetic field with the solar wind. Shown here is the
prototype of the ultra-high resolution time-of-flight mass
spectrometer SwRI will develop for the four MMS spacecraft.
A team led by SwRI scientists used computer simulations to show
that Baptistina, a 170-kilometer-wide asteroid, broke up about
160 million years ago when it was hit by another large asteroid.
Results show a 90 percent probability that a 10-km fragment
from the event created the 65-million-year-old Chicxulub crater on
the Yucatan Peninsula. This impact is believed to have caused
the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. The team
also found that the Moons prominent Tycho crater was likely
produced by a different fragment.
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solar origin traveling near the speed of light, will give astro-
nauts on future exploration missions sufficient time to find
shelter during space radiation storms.
An SwRI-led team proposed a new model of the interac-
tion of the solar winds magnetic field with Jupiters magne-
tosphere. According to the model, which unifies a number of
independent observations, the role played by magnetic
reconnection in the dynamics of Jupiters magnetosphere is
fundamentally different from the one it plays at Earth.
Using computer models and laboratory experiments, SwRI
researchers showed that the sulfur-rich bedrock discovered by
As the IBEX science payload undergoes integration with the spacecraft,
engineers test the hardware and software to ensure efficient operation during
the mission. The IBEX Hi and Lo sensors will take global energetic neutral atom
images to examine the interstellar boundary at the edge of the solar system.
SwRI serves as the principal investigator institution for the NASA mission.
SwRI, one of two finalists being considered by NASA for a 2011
Mars mission, leads development of the Ion and Neutral Mass
Spectrometer for The Great Escape proposal. INMS will have the
highest mass resolution ever flown in space and will study past
and present atmospheric escape rates from the planet. NASA will
select the winning proposal in early 2008 for full development as
a Mars Scout mission.
In addition to leading the development of the SWAP instrument, SwRI is participating on the New Horizons imaging team. This montage of Jupiters
Galilean satellites was assembled from images obtained as the spacecraft swung past the planet for a gravity assist to speed its journey to Pluto.
The satellites are (from left) Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
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the Mars Rover Opportunity was likely produced by ancient
episodes of sulfuric acid rain. This would have inhibited the formation
of limestone, which may explain why no such rocks have been
observed on Mars.
SwRI-led teams also observed Plutos passage in front of two stars.
The atmospheric pressure and temperature profiles obtained have
helped to demonstrate that Pluto is currently undergoing significant
seasonal changes. O
Visit [Link] for more information or contact Vice
President Dr. James L. Burch at (210) 522-2526 or [Link]@[Link].
spacecraft instrument design & development magnetospheric physics theoretical & observational studies
spacecraft computer development spacecraft support systems & software planetary science
solar & heliospheric physics data analysis & science support electromechanical systems design
stellar astronomy spacecraft management spacecraft avionics systems design power systems design
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