Low Frequency plasma wave Analyzer (LFA) onboard the PLANET-B spacecraft

Abstract

The Low Frequency plasma wave Analyzer, LFA, on board the PLANET-B spacecraft has been developed to measure the Martian plasma waves. Two orthogonal electric dipole wire antennas, 50 m tip-to-tip, in the spacecraft spin plane are used to measure plasma waves, dc electric fields, and the spacecraft potential relative to the ambient plasma. The LFA has capability to measure the wave spectrum in the band from 10 Hz to 32 kHz, and to capture the signal waveform in the band from dc to 32 kHz by using a 4 MByte memory. The LFA scientific objectives are to explore the following: (1) Macroscopic plasma environment and boundaries from the solar wind to the ionosphere, (2) Microscopic plasma phenomena induced by the interaction between the solar wind and the Martian atmosphere and the moon Phobos, (3) Generation and propagation of electromagnetic waves, (4) Plasma densities and waves in the nightside ionosphere and tail, and (5) Comparison of Martian plasma waves with those of other planets such as non-magnetized Venus and magnetized Earth.

Instrumentation for Planetary Exploration Missions

“…Examples of PWAs are the wideband plasma wave investigation for the Earth's magnetosphere on Cluster II (Gurnett et al, 1997), the low-frequency PWA (LFA) on board the Planet-B spacecraft for Mars (Matsumoto et al, 1998), and the Huygens permittivity, waves, and altimetry analyzer (PWA) for the atmosphere of Titan (Hamelin et al, 2000).…”

Tiny waveform receiver with a dedicated system chip for observing plasma waves in space

“…The specifications of the tiny waveform receiver are summarized herein and compared with the NOZOMI (previous Japanese Mars explorer mission) low-frequency analyzer (LFA) in Table 1. The LFA is an on-board waveform receiver [10] designed for operation under conditions similar to the terrestrial magnetosphere. The specifications of the tiny waveform receiver are generally superior to those of the LFA in most respects.…”

Software wave receiver for the SS-520-2 rocket experiment

“…The first Japanese Mars orbiter, NOZOMI (PLANET-B) is now in its heliocentric orbit to arrive at Mars in early 2004. The low-frequency analyzer (LFA) [5], onboard NOZOMI, has newly designed digital plasma wave receivers that include digital filters and fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) by a central processing unit (CPU) and a digital signal processor (DSP).…”