Session
Session 2: Next on the Pad
Abstract
The Compact Radiation belt Explorer, CeREs, a 3U CubeSat, is expected to be launched July 2018. The primary science goal of CeREs will be to study the physics of the acceleration and loss of radiation belt electrons, in particular electron microbursts, an important process that contributes to loss of electrons. A secondary science objective of CeREs is to characterize solar energetic particles (SEP), specifically electrons and protons, accessing the near Earth environment via the open field lines over the poles. Solar electron observations will advance our understanding of electron acceleration mechanisms in solar flares and their transport in interplanetary and solar regions. The CeREs CubeSat will be in a low earth, high inclination orbit with a year-long prime-science phase. CeREs measurements complement and extend the science goals of the Van Allen Probes, a NASA flagship mission in a near-equatorial orbit. The MERiT instrument aboard CeREs will detect electrons (protons) at energy levels from ~5(100) keV to ~10 (100) MeV using a stack of 8 silicon solid-state detectors (SSDs) and four avalanche photo diodes (APDs), which are provided by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the co-I institute. The front-end electronics use an innovative Energy-4 ASIC developed at Goddard Space Flight Center. The onboard CHREC Space Processor card is multi-institutional effort funded by the NSF Center for High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing (CHREC). This paper will describe the CeREs spacecraft and its mission in detail and highlight advancements made in the development of the MERiT instrument and supporting hardware.
CeREs: The Compact Radiation Belt Explorer
The Compact Radiation belt Explorer, CeREs, a 3U CubeSat, is expected to be launched July 2018. The primary science goal of CeREs will be to study the physics of the acceleration and loss of radiation belt electrons, in particular electron microbursts, an important process that contributes to loss of electrons. A secondary science objective of CeREs is to characterize solar energetic particles (SEP), specifically electrons and protons, accessing the near Earth environment via the open field lines over the poles. Solar electron observations will advance our understanding of electron acceleration mechanisms in solar flares and their transport in interplanetary and solar regions. The CeREs CubeSat will be in a low earth, high inclination orbit with a year-long prime-science phase. CeREs measurements complement and extend the science goals of the Van Allen Probes, a NASA flagship mission in a near-equatorial orbit. The MERiT instrument aboard CeREs will detect electrons (protons) at energy levels from ~5(100) keV to ~10 (100) MeV using a stack of 8 silicon solid-state detectors (SSDs) and four avalanche photo diodes (APDs), which are provided by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the co-I institute. The front-end electronics use an innovative Energy-4 ASIC developed at Goddard Space Flight Center. The onboard CHREC Space Processor card is multi-institutional effort funded by the NSF Center for High-Performance Reconfigurable Computing (CHREC). This paper will describe the CeREs spacecraft and its mission in detail and highlight advancements made in the development of the MERiT instrument and supporting hardware.
