Miles D M, Kletzing C A, Fuselier S A, Goodrich K A, Bonnell J W, Bounds S, Cao H, Cairns I H, Chen L J, Christopher I W, Cleveland K, Connor H K, Crawford D, Dolan J, Dorelli J C, Dvorsky R, Finley M G, Friedel R H W, Halekas J S, Hospodarsky G B, Jaynes A N, Labelle J, Lin Y, Øieroset M, Petrinec S M, Phillips M L, Powers B, Prasad R, Rospos A, Santolik O, Strangeway R J, Trattner K J, Washington A
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA USA.
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX USA.
Space Sci Rev. 2025;221(5):61. doi: 10.1007/s11214-025-01184-4. Epub 2025 Jun 27.
The overarching science goal of the Tandem Reconnection And Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission is to connect the cusp to the magnetosphere by discovering how spatial or temporal variations in magnetic reconnection drive cusp dynamics. This goal will be achieved with a simple mission design comprising two identical small spacecraft in identical low-Earth orbits in a follow-the-leader configuration. TRACERS will make repeated measurements in the cusp for a twelve-month primary mission using plasma and field instruments. These data will be analyzed using established dual-spacecraft techniques and supported by modeling that ensures science closure on the objectives. The TRACERS team leverages hardware collaborations from the University of Iowa, Southwest Research Institute, University of California Los Angeles, University of California Berkeley, and Millennium Space Systems. The larger science team consists of experts in reconnection, cusp physics, and modeling. TRACERS is dedicated to its proposer, and original Principal Investigator, Professor Craig Kletzing.
串联重联与磁尖电动力学探测卫星（TRACERS）任务的首要科学目标是，通过发现磁重联中的空间或时间变化如何驱动磁尖动力学，将磁尖与磁层连接起来。这一目标将通过一个简单的任务设计来实现，该设计包括两个相同的小型航天器，它们在相同的低地球轨道上以前后跟随的构型运行。TRACERS将在为期十二个月的主要任务中，使用等离子体和磁场仪器在磁尖进行重复测量。这些数据将使用既定的双航天器技术进行分析，并通过确保实现科学目标的建模来提供支持。TRACERS团队利用了来自爱荷华大学、西南研究院、加利福尼亚大学洛杉矶分校、加利福尼亚大学伯克利分校和千禧空间系统公司的硬件合作成果。规模更大的科学团队由重联、磁尖物理学和建模方面的专家组成。TRACERS是献给其提议者及原首席研究员克雷格·克莱津教授的。
