BackForwardInstrument:  CRIS (ACE) 

Instrument details
Acronym CRIS (ACE)
Full name Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer
Purpose To measure all stable and long-lived isotopes of galactic cosmic ray nuclei from He to Zn
Short description Spectrometer for ions with Z from 2 to 28 covering the energy/mass range 30-600 MeV/n. Also, proton spectrometry in the range 30-50 MeV
Background Part of a package of instruments for solar observation
Scanning Technique Interplanetary space from the L1 Lagrange libration point
Resolution N/A
Coverage / Cycle Large fraction of the interplanetary space, nearly continuous
Mass 29.3 kg Power 22 W Data Rate 462 bps

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1997 to 2027
Last update: 2021-11-10
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Solar and space environment monitors
  • Energetic particle spectrometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • Solar wind in situ plasma and energetic particles, magnetic field, at L1
  • Solar wind at L1 - Proton sensor
  • Solar wind at L1 - Alpha-particle sensor
  • Solar wind at L1 - Heavy ion sensor
  • Solar wind at L1 - Plasma density sensor
  • Solar wind at L1 - Plasma temperature sensor
  • Solar wind at L1 - Plasma velocity sensor
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Alpha particles differential directional flux
  • Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum
  • Proton differential directional flux
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Proton differential directional flux*3 - highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space, high energy (over 1000 keV)
Alpha particles differential directional flux*2 - very highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Medium-high energy (over 10 to >100 MeV/n)
Solar wind density3 - highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Inferred from Proton and Alpha-particle spectroscopy
Solar wind temperature3 - highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Inferred from Proton and Alpha-particle spectroscopy
Solar wind velocity3 - highNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Inferred from Proton and Alpha-particle spectroscopy
Heavy ion flux energy and mass spectrum*4 - fairNo specific limitation.Interplanetary space. Medium-high energy (over 10 to >100 MeV/n)