RBSPICE

Radiation Belt Storm Probes Ion Composition Experiment (RBSPICE)

THE RBSPICE SOC and Data Product tutorial can be found here.

The RBSPICE SOC can be found here.

RBSPICE will determine how space weather creates what is called the “storm-time ring current” around Earth and determine how that ring current supplies and supports the creation of radiation populations.

The geomagnetic field drives relativistic electron motion via time-dependent gradient-curvature drift. Thus, structural variations of the inner magnetospheric field due to storm-time ring current growth control transport and losses in the outer belt.

This investigation will accurately measure the ring current pressure distribution, which is needed to understand how the inner magnetosphere changes during geomagnetic storms and how that storm environment supplies and supports the acceleration and loss processes involved in creating and sustaining hazardous radiation particle populations.

RBSPICE Science Investigation Objectives:

  • Understand the effects of the ring current and other storm phenomena on radiation electrons and ions
  • Understand how and why the ring current and associated phenomena vary during storms
  • Support development and validation of specification models of the radiation belts for solar cycle time scales

RBSPICE Data Products:

Measurement Requirements: Hot plasma pressure must be derived to calculate the ring current contribution to storm-time magnetic fields. Thus, it is necessary to resolve the full energy spectrum of the ring current as well as its composition (H, He, O).

RBSPICE covers the full range of expected ring current intensities, from quiet to extreme events, with a factor of 10 margin against saturation.
Measurement quality is independent of the angle between the B-field and the spin axis.
- Ion composition energy range is low enough to determine the complete Ring Current energy density.
- High angle and energy resolution provide detailed pitch-angle and energy spectra: Δθ = 22.5°, ΔE/E = 0.1

 

Online sources and services for RBSPICE data include:

MIDL

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RBSPICE Summary Plot Browser

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RBSPICE Data Products Spacecraft A Data Spacecraft B Data
Level 2 Level 3 Level 2 Level 3
Electron Energy Mode - High Energy, Low Time Resolution Electron Fluxes A_ESRHELT_2 A_ESRHELT_3 B_ESRHELT_2 B_ESRHELT_3
Electron Energy Mode - Low Energy, High Time Resolution Electron Fluxes A_ESRLEHT_2 A_ESRLEHT_3 B_ESRLEHT_2 B_ESRLEHT_3
Ion Energy Mode - High Energy, Low Time Resolution Ion Fluxes A_ISRHELT_2 A_ISRHELT_3 B_ISRHELT_2 B_ISRHELT_3
Time of Flight by Energy Mode - Proton Rates A_TOFxEH_2 A_TOFxEH_3 B_TOFxEH_2 B_TOFxEH_3
Time of Flight by Energy Mode - Ion Rates A_TOFxEIon_2 A_TOFxEIon_3 B_TOFxEIon_2 B_TOFxEIon_3
Time of Flight by Energy Mode - non Hydrogen Rates A_TOFxEnonH_2 A_TOFxEnonH_3 B_TOFxEnonH_2 B_TOFxEnonH_3
Time of Flight by Pulse Height mode - Hydrogen & Oxygen
High Energy, Low Time Resolution
A_TOFxPHHHELT_2 A_TOFxPHHHELT_3 B_TOFxPHHHELT_2 B_TOFxPHHHELT_3
Time of Flight by Pulse Height mode - Hydrogen & Oxygen
Low Energy, High Time Resolution
A_TOFxPHHLEHT_2 A_TOFxPHHLEHT_3 B_TOFxPHHLEHT_2 B_TOFxPHHLEHT_3