The pioneer Cluster mission: preparation of its legacy phase near re-entry
Abstract The Cluster mission will always be the first ever multi-spacecraft mission mapping the Earth magnetosphere in three dimensions. Launched in 2000 and originally planned to operate for two years, it has been orbiting Earth for more than two solar cycles. Over the course of its lifetime, its data have enabled the scientific community to conduct pioneer science. Recent scientific highlights will be presented first, followed by the latest scientific objectives that have guided the Cluster mission operations from 2021 until 2024. Early September 2024, one spacecraft of this veteran constellation will re-enter in a controlled manner the Earth’s atmosphere, followed by its companions in 2025 and 2026. As we will see, this will be a unique opportunity to improve the ESA space debris re-entry models. Lastly, preparation of its legacy phase will be presented. Graphical Abstract
Authors
- C. P. Escoubet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4475-6769)
- A. Masson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5602-1957)
- M. G. G. T. Taylor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4206-0250)
- Stijn Lemmens
- Detlef Sieg
- Beatriz Abascal Palacios
- Silvia Sanvido
- Bruno Sousa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7092-1137)
Institutions
- European Space Operations Centre (DE)
- European Space Astronomy Centre (ES)
- European Space Research and Technology Centre (NL)
- Robert Bosch (Germany) (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Earth Planets and Space
- Published
- 2024-08-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s40623-024-02060-1
- Citations
- 4
- Primary Topic
- Ionosphere and magnetosphere dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.33
Funders
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration