The INTERBALL Project is devoted to the detailed study of the energy, momentum and mass transfer in the critical regions of the solar wind/magnetosphere system. It is conceived as a four-satellite mission of two closely spaced pairs on different high-altitude orbits.
In each satellite pair the wave motions, plasma drifts and temporal bursts of plasma parameters can be distinguished from the crossings of the stable space structures in the magnetospheric plasma.
The TAIL PROBE with its subsatellite was launched on 3 August 1995 to the elongated elliptical orbit with the inclination of 65 degrees and apogee of 200 000 km. These satellites study the interactions of the Solar Wind with the Magnetopause and the outer regions of the magnetosphere. Specific aims is to study the active plasma processes within the tail where powerful currents, substorms and other large-scale non-linear magnetospheric phenomena originate. The separation in this pair will change from less than 100 km, allowing to study the small-scale wave and plasma structures at the boundaries, till about 1-2 RE (the Earth's radii) to study large plasma structures in the tail.
The AURORAL PROBE with its subsatellite was launched on 29 August 1996, also to the 65 degrees inclination orbit, but with the apogee of 20 000 km above the northern auroral zone and polar cap.
Two different auroral imagers are installed on the Auroral probe main satellite. These imagers are aimed to provide the two-dimensional global patterns of auroral phenomena and their time development. This allows to place in situ measurements from the two probes in the global geophysical perspective of large-scale magnetospheric processes.
Scientific aspects
The combination of the data from all the four satellites during the magnetic conjunctions between the TAIL and AURORAL PROBES will allow to add the additional possibility to magnetospheric studies by the measurements of the time delays and other specific time/space differences between the phenomena in the outer magnetosphere and in the auroral acceleration region.
An important part of the INTERBALL Projects is the coordination with the ground-based (G/B) measurements of magnetic variations, pulsations, optical auroral features, radar auroras, VLF emissions, auroral ionosphere features, etc. The G/B data will help to delineate the intervals of quiet magnetosphere, substorms and large storms for the priority analysis. Besides, and even more importantly, this will provide invaluable information about the time/space development of auroral currents and fields in the Earth's frame which is needed for the proper assessment of the highly variable local magnetospheric features observed by the INTERBALL satellites.
Scientific Community
The INTERBALL project involves the efforts of a large international community of Russia together with Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia , ESA, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kirgizia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom and Ukraine. Besides that a close cooperation within the project with the ground-based geophysical observations community will allow atimely information on the current solar and geophysical conditions which are indispensable to put the satellite data in the global solar-terrestrial perspective.
Version:2.4.0
The INTERBALL Project is devoted to the detailed study of the energy, momentum and mass transfer in the critical regions of the solar wind/magnetosphere system. It is conceived as a four-satellite mission of two closely spaced pairs on different high-altitude orbits.
In each satellite pair the wave motions, plasma drifts and temporal bursts of plasma parameters can be distinguished from the crossings of the stable space structures in the magnetospheric plasma.
The TAIL PROBE with its subsatellite was launched on 3 August 1995 to the elongated elliptical orbit with the inclination of 65 degrees and apogee of 200 000 km. These satellites study the interactions of the Solar Wind with the Magnetopause and the outer regions of the magnetosphere. Specific aims is to study the active plasma processes within the tail where powerful currents, substorms and other large-scale non-linear magnetospheric phenomena originate. The separation in this pair will change from less than 100 km, allowing to study the small-scale wave and plasma structures at the boundaries, till about 1-2 RE (the Earth's radii) to study large plasma structures in the tail.
The AURORAL PROBE with its subsatellite was launched on 29 August 1996, also to the 65 degrees inclination orbit, but with the apogee of 20 000 km above the northern auroral zone and polar cap.
Two different auroral imagers are installed on the Auroral probe main satellite. These imagers are aimed to provide the two-dimensional global patterns of auroral phenomena and their time development. This allows to place in situ measurements from the two probes in the global geophysical perspective of large-scale magnetospheric processes.
Scientific aspects
The combination of the data from all the four satellites during the magnetic conjunctions between the TAIL and AURORAL PROBES will allow to add the additional possibility to magnetospheric studies by the measurements of the time delays and other specific time/space differences between the phenomena in the outer magnetosphere and in the auroral acceleration region.
An important part of the INTERBALL Projects is the coordination with the ground-based (G/B) measurements of magnetic variations, pulsations, optical auroral features, radar auroras, VLF emissions, auroral ionosphere features, etc. The G/B data will help to delineate the intervals of quiet magnetosphere, substorms and large storms for the priority analysis. Besides, and even more importantly, this will provide invaluable information about the time/space development of auroral currents and fields in the Earth's frame which is needed for the proper assessment of the highly variable local magnetospheric features observed by the INTERBALL satellites.
Scientific Community
The INTERBALL project involves the efforts of a large international community of Russia together with Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechia , ESA, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Kirgizia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom and Ukraine. Besides that a close cooperation within the project with the ground-based geophysical observations community will allow atimely information on the current solar and geophysical conditions which are indispensable to put the satellite data in the global solar-terrestrial perspective.
| Role | Person | StartDate | StopDate | Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | ProjectScientist | spase://CNES/Person/CDPP-Archive/Lev.Zelenyi |