Cluster Status Report - November 2004

Cluster Status Report - November 2004

29 Nov 2004 15:58

Mission Status

The spacecraft and instruments are operating nominally. In connection with
the Perseid meteor shower in August 2004, the electron instrument PEACE on
C3 detected anomalously high counts and one of the sensors (HEEA) was
automatically switched off. It was later switched back on and is presently
working nominally.
EDI on C2 was tested for sensor temperatures during long eclipses without
heating. The temperature observed was around -30 degrees, which is in line
with the thermal model. The four spacecraft have just passed the long
eclipses without problems. A new procedure using only 4 batteries fully
charged and one in empty storage to prevent any further degradation has been
successfully implemented.
Operations and Archiving
JSOC and ESOC operations are continuing nominally. JSOC now also
co-ordinates the operations with Double Star - scheduling burst mode
operations for times of magnetic conjunction between Cluster and Double
Star.
The Cluster Active Archive is progressing well. The CAA hardware has now
been set-up and first test data have been ingested. Visits to PI institutes
are being made to discuss the ICD and the data products.
Preparations for the Cluster extension continue. The main scientific goal
during the extension will be to attempt the first multi-scale observations
and to visit new regions of the magnetosphere.
Science Highlights
A paper on Kelvin-Helmholtz vortices observed at the magnetopause was
published in Nature on 12 August. Surface waves have been observed before,
but this is the first time that we observe the roll-up of the waves using
the four Cluster spacecraft. This result has great impact in Sun-Earth
interaction since it is one of the processes believes to make the solar wind
plasma enter the magnetosphere.
A special issue of Annales Geophysicae on the 5th Cluster workshop held last
year was published in July. It contained 33 papers on Cluster results.




--
--------------

Jacques :-)

www.spacepatches.info