The Electric and Magnetic Field Instrument and Integrated Science (EMFISIS) investigation on the NASA Radiation Belt Storm Probes (now named the Van Allen Probes) mission provides key wave and very low frequency magnetic field measurements to understand radiation belt acceleration, loss, and transport. The key science objectives and the contribution that EMFISIS makes to providing measurements as well as theory and modeling are described. The key components of the instruments suite, both electronics and sensors, including key functional parameters, calibration, and performance, demonstrate that EMFI-SIS provides the needed measurements for the science of the RBSP mission. The EMFISIS operational modes and data products, along with online availability and data tools provide the radiation belt science community with one the most complete sets of data ever collected.

The MAVEN magnetic field investigation is part of a comprehensive particles and fields subsystem that will measure the magnetic and electric fields and plasma environment of Mars and its interaction with the solar wind. The magnetic field instrumentation consists of two independent tri-axial fluxgate magnetometer sensors, remotely mounted at the outer extremity of the two solar arrays on small extensions ("boomlets"). The sensors are controlled by independent and functionally identical electronics assemblies that are integrated within the particles and fields subsystem and draw their power from redundant power supplies within that system. Each magnetometer measures the ambient vector magnetic field over a wide dynamic range (to 65,536 nT per axis) with a resolution of 0.008 nT in the most sensitive dynamic range and an accuracy of better than 0.05 %. Both magnetometers sample the ambient magnetic field at an intrinsic sample rate of 32 vector samples per second. Telemetry is transferred from each magnetometer to the particles and fields package once per second and subsequently passed to the spacecraft after some reformatting. The magnetic field data volume may be reduced by averaging and decimation, when necessary to meet telemetry allocations, and application of data compression, utilizing a lossless 8-bit differencing scheme. The MAVEN magnetic field experiment may be reconfigured in flight to meet unanticipated needs and is fully hardware redundant. A spacecraft magnetic control program was implemented to provide a magnetically clean environment for the magnetic sensors and the MAVEN mission plan provides for occasional spacecraft maneuversmultiple rotations about the spacecraft x and z axes-to characterize spacecraft fields and/or instrument offsets in flight.

NASA’s Solar Probe Plus (SPP) mission will make the first in situ measurements of the solar corona and the birthplace of the solar wind. The FIELDS instrument suite on SPP will make direct measurements of electric and magnetic fields, the properties of in situ plasma waves, electron density and temperature profiles, and interplanetary radio emissions, amongst other things. Here, we describe the scientific objectives targeted by the SPP/FIELDS instrument, the instrument design itself, and the instrument concept of operations and planned data products.

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) addresses the chemical and isotopic composition of the atmosphere and volatiles extracted from solid samples. The SAM investigation is designed to contribute substantially to the mission goal of quantitatively assessing the habitability of Mars as an essential step in the search for past or present life on Mars. SAM is a 40 kg instrument suite located in the interior of MSL's Curiosity rover. The SAM instruments are a quadrupole mass spectrometer, a tunable laser spectrometer, and a 6-column gas chromatograph all coupled through solid and gas processing systems to provide complementary information on the same samples. The SAM suite is able to measure a suite of light isotopes and to analyze volatiles directly from the atmosphere or thermally released from solid samples. In addition to measurements of simple inorganic compounds and noble gases SAM will conduct a sensitive search for organic compounds with either thermal or chemical extraction from sieved samples delivered by the sample processing system on the Curiosity rover's robotic arm.

The Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) investigation of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) addresses the chemical and isotopic composition of the atmosphere and volatiles extracted from solid samples. The SAM investigation is designed to contribute substantially to the mission goal of quantitatively assessing the habitability of Mars as an essential step in the search for past or present life on Mars. SAM is a 40 kg instrument suite located in the interior ofMSL's Curiosity rover. The SAM instruments are a quadrupole mass spectrometer, a tunable laser spectrometer, and a 6-column gas chromatograph all coupled through solid and gas processing systems to provide complementary information on the same samples. The SAM suite is able to measure a suite oflight isotopes and to analyze volatiles directly from the atmosphere or thermally released from solid samples. In addition to measurements of simple inorganic compounds and noble gases SAM will conduct a sensitive search for organic compounds with either thermal or chemical extraction from sieved samples delivered by the sample processing system on the Curiosity rover's robotic arm.