FIELDS Instrument Suite
The FIELDS investigation is an advanced suite of six sensors measuring critical electric and magnetic fields in and around reconnection regions. Investigation is led by Co-Investigator R. B. Torbert, University of New Hampshire.
FIELDS Sensors
Analog Fluxgate (AFG) and Digital Fluxgate (DFG) Magnetometers
UCLA and the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IWF) provide the AFG and DFG sensors and electronics with calibration support from the Technical University of Braunschweig (TU-BS, Germany). Two kinds of magnetometers provide redundant measurements of the magnetic field and structure in the diffusion region.- Electron Drift Instrument (EDI)
The EDI determines the electric and magnetic fields by measuring the drift of ~1 keV electrons emitted from a pair of Gun Detector Units (GDU). Each GDU sends and receives a coded beam to and from the other EDI-GDU. The University of New Hampshire, in collaboration with the Space Research Institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (IWF) and the University of Iowa, provides the The EDI GDU and electronics.
- Double Probes (SDP/ADP)
MMS requires two sets of double-probe instruments. The Spin-plane Double Probe (SDP) consists of four 60-meter wire booms with spherical sensors at the end. The Axial Double Probe (ADP) consists of two 12-meter antennas deployed axially near the spacecraft spin axis. The SDP and ADP provide full 3D electric field measurements over a range from DC to 100 kHz with an accuracy of 0.5 mV/m (SDP) and 1 mV/m (ADP). The University of Colorado, the Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden) and the University of New Hampshire provide these sensors and the associated electronics.
- Search Coil Magnetometer (SCM)
The SCM will measure the 3-axis AC magnetic field up to 6 kHz and will be used with the ADP and SDP to determine the contribution of plasma waves to the turbulent dissipation occurring in the diffusion region. Development is at the Laboratory for Plasma Physics (France).
- Central Electronics Box (CEB)
The CEB (not pictured) provides power, control and data processing for the suite of FIELDS sensors. The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH, Sweden) provides the power supply. The University of New Hampshire provides the CEB and the software with contributions from the sensor team institutions: KTH, LASP, UCLA and IWF.