TY - JOUR
T1 - AME
T2 - A Cross-Scale Constellation of CubeSats to Explore Magnetic Reconnection in the Solar–Terrestrial Relation
AU - Dai, Lei
AU - Wang, Chi
AU - Cai, Zhiming
AU - Gonzalez, Walter
AU - Hesse, Michael
AU - Escoubet, Philippe
AU - Phan, Tai
AU - Vasyliunas, Vytenis
AU - Lu, Quanming
AU - Li, Lei
AU - Kong, Linggao
AU - Dunlop, Malcolm
AU - Nakamura, Rumi
AU - He, Jianshen
AU - Fu, Huishan
AU - Zhou, Meng
AU - Huang, Shiyong
AU - Wang, Rongsheng
AU - Khotyaintsev, Yuri
AU - Graham, Daniel
AU - Retino, Alessandro
AU - Zelenyi, Lev
AU - Grigorenko, Elena E.
AU - Runov, Andrei
AU - Angelopoulos, Vassilis
AU - Kepko, Larry
AU - Hwang, Kyoung Joo
AU - Zhang, Yongcun
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Dai, Wang, Cai, Gonzalez, Hesse, Escoubet, Phan, Vasyliunas, Lu, Li, Kong, Dunlop, Nakamura, He, Fu, Zhou, Huang, Wang, Khotyaintsev, Graham, Retino, Zelenyi, Grigorenko, Runov, Angelopoulos, Kepko, Hwang and Zhang.
PY - 2020/4/15
Y1 - 2020/4/15
N2 - A major subset of solar–terrestrial relations, responsible, in particular, for the driver of space weather phenomena, is the interaction between the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind. As one of the most important modes of the solar–wind–magnetosphere interaction, magnetic reconnection regulates the energy transport and energy release in the solar–terrestrial relation. In situ measurements in the near-Earth space are crucial for understanding magnetic reconnection. Past and existing spacecraft constellation missions mainly focus on the measurement of reconnection on plasma kinetic-scales. Resolving the macro-scale and cross-scale aspects of magnetic reconnection is necessary for accurate assessment and predictions of its role in the context of space weather. Here, we propose the AME (self-Adaptive Magnetic reconnection Explorer) mission consisting of a cross-scale constellation of 12+ CubeSats and one mother satellite. Each CubeSat is equipped with instruments to measure magnetic fields and thermal plasma particles. With multiple CubeSats, the AME constellation is intended to make simultaneous measurements at multiple scales, capable of exploring cross-scale plasma processes ranging from kinetic scale to macro scale.
AB - A major subset of solar–terrestrial relations, responsible, in particular, for the driver of space weather phenomena, is the interaction between the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind. As one of the most important modes of the solar–wind–magnetosphere interaction, magnetic reconnection regulates the energy transport and energy release in the solar–terrestrial relation. In situ measurements in the near-Earth space are crucial for understanding magnetic reconnection. Past and existing spacecraft constellation missions mainly focus on the measurement of reconnection on plasma kinetic-scales. Resolving the macro-scale and cross-scale aspects of magnetic reconnection is necessary for accurate assessment and predictions of its role in the context of space weather. Here, we propose the AME (self-Adaptive Magnetic reconnection Explorer) mission consisting of a cross-scale constellation of 12+ CubeSats and one mother satellite. Each CubeSat is equipped with instruments to measure magnetic fields and thermal plasma particles. With multiple CubeSats, the AME constellation is intended to make simultaneous measurements at multiple scales, capable of exploring cross-scale plasma processes ranging from kinetic scale to macro scale.
KW - CubeSats
KW - constellation
KW - cross-scale
KW - magnetic reconnection
KW - mother satellite
KW - solar-terrestrial relation
KW - space weather
U2 - 10.3389/fphy.2020.00089
DO - 10.3389/fphy.2020.00089
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85083980795
SN - 2296-424X
VL - 8
JO - Frontiers in Physics
JF - Frontiers in Physics
M1 - 89
ER -