POLAR Telecon Agenda for December 3, 2004

Newsletter Contents:

 

0. Upcoming Polar Telecon
1. Budget news

2. Operations:

    GTM Anomaly

    Sun Angle Maneuver

3. MFE Data Processing Status

4. Polar Team Meeting at AGU

5. Polar Science Workshop 2005

6. Polar Outreach
 
0.  Upcoming Polar Telecon

Friday, December 3, 2004

4 pm ET, 3 pm CT, 2 pm MT, 1 pm PT
PIs and their designated representatives will be telephoned at their usual numbers.
Other participants may call in at: 1-888-793-1765, password POLAR TELECON
(Leader: John Sigwarth)


The web site for the final agenda will be:

http://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/polar/telecons/2004Dec03/

 

 

Science Discussion from CAMMICE

 

Future Polar Telecon

Friday, January 28, 2005

 

Future Telecon Science Discussion Schedule
[Errors/omissions/preferences to: nicola.fox@jhuapl.edu

Jan 2005:  VIS

Feb 2005:  EFI

Mar 2005:  TIMAS

Apr 2005:  HYDRA

May 2005:  MFE

June 2005:  CEPPAD

July 2005:  TIDE

Aug 2005:  PIXIE

Sep 2005:  SEPS

Oct 2005: UVI 

Nov 2005: MDI

Dec 2005: CAMMICE

 

1. Budget news
 
NASA headquarters has not as yet provided instruction on the question of Polar funding needed for operations in FY2006.  NASA headquarters is aware of the problem and they are working it.  As soon as the Polar project receives instruction, we will pass on the information.
 
A reminder to those teams on grants.  Please send in your final reports for the current grant and the proposal for the new grant about 2 months before your end date.  For those teams that have already submitted these documents, your proposals are being put through the procurement system.
 
2. Operations
 
If you have any concerns about Polar operations, please contact Nicky Fox (nicola.fox@jhuapl.edu)
 
GTM Anomaly

 

Polar experienced a GTM upset at 18:37:34 on DOY 318 (Saturday, November 13, 2004). The impact was minimized by the fact that it occurred during a real-time pass.  The upset occurred during post maneuver instrument operations for TIDE and was recognized quickly when telemetry became corrupted. Telemetry was recovered 5 minutes later, and the GTM upset recovery procedure was followed. The magnetometer (MFE) recovery began at 18:52z; HYDRA recovery (write protect flag was cleared) began at 19:09z; TIDE recovery began at 19:15z. TIMAS recovery began Saturday and was completed at 17:40z on Sunday.  This is the tenth GTM upset since November 10, 2003 - all on GTM 2 - and the fourteenth since launch. The last GTM upset occurred on July 29, 2004 (NOTE: what was originally thought to be the tenth GTM upset on August 27, 2004 had similarities, but did not actually upset the GTM)

  

Sun Angle Maneuver

 

The Polar spacecraft maneuver occurred on November 10, 2004.  Spurious nutation of the spacecraft was observed between some pulses and the acceleration from each pulse had a larger variation than observed previously.  These may be due to low level of thruster fuel remaining in the tanks.  The behavior is being analyzed for potential impacts on the remaining maneuvers. 

 

The next Polar spacecraft maneuver is planned for January 20, 2005.

 

3. MFE Data Processing Status

 

4. Polar Team Meeting at AGU

 

We have scheduled a small focused meeting on Monday December 13th at the AGU from 6.15pm (sessions finish at 6pm). The meeting will be held in the Marriott Hotel near to the convention center in Salon 14-15. This will be an opportunity for us to get together as a team to discuss the future of Polar science and operations activities as well as Polar’s visibility in the context of broader community science activities.

 

The main item for the agenda is the discussion of candidate topics for new science. The plan is to use these topics as the basis for a white paper which will be presented to Chuck Holmes as part of the FY2006 operating plan. A number of PIs have kindly agreed to lead the various discussion topics. We welcome further suggestions from other PI teams. There will be screens and both a viewgraph and LCD projector available in the room so anyone should feel free to present ideas for future science goals.

 

  • Auroral acceleration region – Chris Russell

 

Polar will make high-altitude measurements of the auroral acceleration region in collaboration with the THEMIS ground-based component – which will be deployed and tested in 2005. This will fully utilize the high bit-rate telemetry mode for in-situ measurements of the field-aligned currents together with the comprehensive northern hemisphere network of ground stations observing the ionospheric currents and auroral structures.

 

  • Long-term Radiation Belts Statistics (expand current knowledge to include the declining phase of the Solar Cycle). – Bern Blake

 

It is known that the radiation belts behave differently during the declining phase of a solar cycle.  In early 2005 and continuing through 2007, the Polar orbit will be ideally situated to cross through all zones of the radiation belts again through this declining phase of the solar cycle and continuing down to solar minimum.  The long baseline of Polar measurements will be an invaluable resource for radiation belt modelers for the next half decade.

 

  • Revisiting the cusp with high temporal resolution – (TBD)

 

Polar in conjunction with Cluster can be used to resolve spatial-temporal ambiguities in the cusp.  With Polar in its high bit rate telemetry mode for in-situ measurements details of the cusp not accessible before will now be observed. We can also study wave structures in the cusp which would not be possible without the high bit-rate data mode

 

In addition, Polar will have a second look with higher temporal resolution at the high-energy particles in the cusp.  The origin of these high-energy particles has been the subject of considerable controversy.

 

  • Configuration of magnetospheric system – Tom Moore

 

This is a global objective focusing upon “System Science” showing how we are crucial to the Sun-Earth system studies as a whole. This will involve synergy with Cluster and many other missions.

 

  • Conjugacy of Cluster in the northern hemisphere with Polar in the south – Forrest Mozer

 

There are many possibilities for conjugate studies using Polar in collaboration with Cluster. One example is to investigate whether conjugate reconnection occurs during northward IMF periods.

 

5. Polar Science Workshop, 2005

 

The next Polar Science Team Workshop has been scheduled for February 22-23, 2005, at the Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center. A call for abstracts will go out in the New Year.

 

6. Polar Outreach

 

Education and Public Outreach

 

Spectacular auroral images were acquired by the Polar/VIS camera on November 8 during the major geomagnetic storm at Earth. The images of the Aurora Australis were featured in the NASA/GSFC press release

 

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/solarsystem/aurora1110.html

 

The Best of Polar DVD: “Earth's Dynamic Space: Solar Terrestrial Physics & NASA's Polar Mission" has been delivered and each PI team should have received 5 copies. Any team wishing more should contact Rose Walsh (rose.walsh@gsfc.nasa.gov) to arrange mailing.