EPI - Energetic Particles Investigation, the Kiel
particle experiment on the GALILEO PROBE
Scientific objectives of the EPI experiment
- First in-situ-measurement of energy and directional distributions
of electrons, protons, helium and heavier nuclei at the lower boundary
of the Jovian radiation belt between five Jovian radii and the top
of the atmosphere.
- Comparison with the synchrotron radiation emitted by energetic electrons
from this part of space
as regularly monitored by the DSN.
- Correlation with radio intensities in the Jovian magnetosphere as
measured by the Lightning und Radio Detector (LRD) on board
of the same space probe
which influence the spatial distribution of energetic particles
in the radiation belt.
Technical data of the EPI instrument
- Mass: 1 kg
- Power consumption: 1 W
- maximalum counting rate: 3 000 000 / sec
-
- (A complete instrument description is given in Space Science Reviews
60/1-4, p. 79-90, 1992.)
Schedule
- 1978: Start of planning phase
- 1983: Flight unit of instrument ready
- 18-Oct-1989: Launch
- 12-Jul-1995: Separation of PROBE from Orbiter
- 07-Dec-1995: Entry of PROBE in Jupiter's atmosphere
Collaborating institutions
- NASA Ames Research Center
Mountain View, Ca, USA
- Bell Telephone Laboratories
Murray Hill, NJ, USA
- Max-Planck-Institut für Aeronomie
Katlenburg-Lindau, Deutschland
- Institut für Datenverarbeitungsanlagen
der Technischen Universität Braunschweig, Deutschland
Financial support
This project was successively supported by grants of
the Bundesminister für Forschung und Technologie (BMFT),
the Deutsche Agentur für Weltraumangelegenheiten GmbH (DARA)
and the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR).
Back to the
Kiel Extraterrestrial Physics homepage.
fischer@kernphysik.uni-kiel.de