AMBRE: A Compact Instrument to Measure Thermal Ions, Electrons and Electrostatic Charging Onboard Spacecraft

TL;DR

AMBER is a compact, lightweight instrument designed to measure thermal ions, electrons, and electrostatic charging onboard spacecraft, with improved subsystems and dual-species measurement capabilities for space plasma and spacecraft environment monitoring.

Contribution

The paper presents the development and calibration of a next-generation, single-head AMBER instrument that reduces size and power while enhancing measurement capabilities for space plasma and charging.

Findings

Successful calibration of the prototype in 2017

Reduced instrument resources to ~1 kg and 1.5 W

Enhanced measurement versatility for plasma populations and spacecraft charging

Abstract

The Active Monitor Box of Electrostatic Risks (AMBER) is a double-head thermal electron and ion electrostatic analyzer (energy range 0-30 keV) that was launched onboard the Jason-3 spacecraft in 2016. The next generation AMBER instrument, for which a first prototype was developed and then calibrated at the end of 2017, constitutes a significant evolution that is based on a single head to measure both species alternatively. The instrument developments focused on several new subsystems (front-end electronics, high-voltage electronics, mechanical design) that permit to reduce instrument resources down to ~ 1 kg and 1.5 W. AMBER is designed as a generic radiation monitor with a twofold purpose: (1) measure magnetospheric thermal ion and electron populations in the range 0-35 keV, with significant scientific potential (e.g., plasmasphere, ring current, plasma sheet), and (2) monitor spacecraft electrostatic charging and the plasma populations responsible for it, for electromagnetic cleanliness and operational purposes.