SMILE: a joint ESA/CAS mission to investigate the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere

Raab, Walfried; Branduardi‐Raymont, G.; Wang, Chi; Dai, Lei; Donovan, E.; Enno, G.; Escoubet, Philippe; Holland, Andrew D.; Li, Jing; Kataria, D. O.; Li, Lei; Read, A. M.; Rebuffat, D.; Romstedt, J.; Runciman, Chris; Sembay, S.; Spanswick, E.; Sykes, Jon; Thornhill, J.; Wielders, Arno; Zhang, Aibing; Zheng, Jianhua

doi:10.1117/12.2231984

Cited by 55 publications

(46 citation statements)

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“…The Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (SMILE) is a joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) mission due for launch in late 2021 (Raab et al 2016). SMILE is a small class mission, S2 in the ESA program, and has a science payload consisting of the UK-led Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), Canadian-led Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) and the Chinese-led Light Ion Analyser (LIA) and Magnetometer (MAG).…”

Section: Smilementioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging Plasma Density Structures in the Soft X-Rays Generated by Solar Wind Charge Exchange with Neutrals

et al. 2018

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Both heliophysics and planetary physics seek to understand the complex nature of the solar wind's interaction with solar system obstacles like Earth's magnetosphere, the ionospheres of Venus and Mars, and comets. Studies with this objective are frequently conducted with the help of single or multipoint in situ electromagnetic field and particle observations, guided by the predictions of both local and global numerical simulations, and placed in con- text by observations from far and extreme ultraviolet (FUV, EUV), hard X-ray, and energetic neutral atom imagers (ENA). Each proposed interaction mechanism (e.g., steady or transient magnetic reconnection, local or global magnetic reconnection, ion pick-up, or the KelvinHelmholtz instability) generates diagnostic plasma density structures. The significance of each mechanism to the overall interaction (as measured in terms of atmospheric/ionospheric loss at comets, Venus, and Mars or global magnetospheric/ionospheric convection at Earth) remains to be determined but can be evaluated on the basis of how often the density signatures that it generates are observed as a function of solar wind conditions. This paper reviews efforts to image the diagnostic plasma density structures in the soft (low energy, 0.1-2.0 keV) X-rays produced when high charge state solar wind ions exchange electrons with the exospheric neutrals surrounding solar system obstacles. The introduction notes that theory, local, and global simulations predict the characteristics of plasma boundaries such the bow shock and magnetopause (including location, density gradient, and motion) and regions such as the magnetosheath (including density and width) as a function of location, solar wind conditions, and the particular mechanism operating. In situ measurements confirm the existence of time-and spatial-dependent plasma density structures like the bow shock, magnetosheath, and magnetopause/ionopause at Venus, Mars, comets, and the Earth. However, in situ measurements rarely suffice to determine the global extent of these density structures or their global variation as a function of solar wind conditions, except in the form of empirical studies based on observations from many different times and solar wind conditions. Remote sensing observations provide global information about auroral ovals (FUV and hard X-ray), the terrestrial plasmasphere (EUV), and the terrestrial ring current (ENA). ENA instruments with low energy thresholds (∼ 1 keV) have recently been used to obtain important information concerning the magnetosheaths of Venus, Mars, and the Earth. Recent technological developments make these magnetosheaths valuable potential targets for high-cadence wide-field-of-view soft X-ray imagers.Section 2 describes proposed dayside interaction mechanisms, including reconnection, the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability, and other processes in greater detail with an emphasis on the plasma density structures that they generate. It focuses upon the questions that remain as yet unanswered, such as the significanc...

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Section: Smilementioning

confidence: 99%

Imaging Plasma Density Structures in the Soft X-Rays Generated by Solar Wind Charge Exchange with Neutrals

et al. 2018

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“…SMILE, the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, is a small class joint venture mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences [1]. With a planned launch date of late 2021, SMILE will be in a unique position to observe the dynamic response of the Earth's magnetosphere to the solar wind impact using an instrument suite made up of the Soft X-ray Imager (SXI), the Ultra-Violet Imager (UVI), and in-situ monitoring provided by a Light Ion Analyser (LIA) and a MAGnetometer (MAG).…”

Section: Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (Smile)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The SMILE Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) CCD design and development

et al. 2018

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Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, is a joint science mission between the European Space Agency and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The spacecraft will be uniquely equipped to study the interaction between the Earth's magnetosphere-ionosphere system and the solar wind on a global scale. SMILE's instruments will explore this science through imaging of the solar wind charge exchange soft X-ray emission from the dayside magnetosheath, simultaneous imaging of the UV northern aurora and in-situ monitoring of the solar wind and magnetosheath plasma and magnetic field conditions.The Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) is the instrument being designed to observe X-ray photons emitted by the solar wind charge exchange process at photon energies between 200 eV and 2000 eV. X-rays will be collected using a focal plane array of two custom-designed CCDs, each consisting of 18 µm square pixels in a 4510 by 4510 array.SMILE will be placed in a highly elliptical polar orbit, passing in and out of the Earth's radiation belts every 48 hours. Radiation damage accumulated in the CCDs during the mission's nominal 3-year lifetime will degrade their performance (such as through decreases in charge transfer efficiency), negatively impacting the instrument's ability to detect low energy X-rays incident on the regions of the CCD image area furthest from the detector outputs. The design of the SMILE-SXI CCDs is presented here, including features and operating methods for mitigating the effects of radiation damage and expected end of life CCD performance. Measurements with a PLATO device 1Corresponding author.

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“…The WFXT is based on lobster-eye grazing incidence technology that has been under development for over two decades (e.g., Fraser et al, 2002) and is slated, or proposed, to fly on numerous missions (e.g., Fraser et al, 2010;Mercier et al, 2014;Raab et al, 2016;Amati et al, 2018). All subsystems of the WFXT are technology readiness level (TRL) ≥6.…”

Section: Technology Readiness Levelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the Death of Massive Stars Using an Astrophysical Transients Observatory

Roming

Baron

Bayless

et al. 2018

Front. Astron. Space Sci.

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The death of massive stars, manifested as gamma-ray bursts and core-collapse supernovae, critically influence how the universe formed and evolves. Despite their fundamental importance, our understanding of these enigmatic objects is severely limited. We have performed a concept study of an Astrophysical Transient Observatory (ATO) that will rapidly facilitate an expansion of our understanding of these objects. ATO combines a very wide-field X-ray telescope, a near-infrared telescope, a multi-mode ultraviolet instrument, and a rapidly slewing spacecraft to realize two primary goals: (1) characterize the highest-redshift massive stars and their environments, and (2) constrain the poorly understood explosion mechanism of massive stars. The goals are met by observing the first massive stars to explode as gamma-ray bursts and to probe their environments, and by observing the shock breakout of core-collapse supernovae to measure the outer envelope parameters of massive stars. Additionally, ATO will observe the shock breakout of Type Ia supernovae and their shock interaction with a companion, Roming et al.Astrophysical Transient Observatory electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave sources, kilonovae, tidal disruption events, cataclysmic variables, X-ray transients, flares from exoplanet host stars, and the escape of ionizing radiation from star-forming galaxies. A description of the ATO instruments, the mission simulation, and technology readiness level is provided.

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SMILE: a joint ESA/CAS mission to investigate the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere

Cited by 55 publications

References 5 publications

Imaging Plasma Density Structures in the Soft X-Rays Generated by Solar Wind Charge Exchange with Neutrals

Imaging Plasma Density Structures in the Soft X-Rays Generated by Solar Wind Charge Exchange with Neutrals

The SMILE Soft X-ray Imager (SXI) CCD design and development

Understanding the Death of Massive Stars Using an Astrophysical Transients Observatory

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