{"id":542,"date":"2020-01-08T15:32:44","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T15:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.1.80\/?page_id=542"},"modified":"2026-01-29T16:45:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T16:45:56","slug":"space-missions","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/verscharen.com\/?page_id=542","title":{"rendered":"Space Missions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Credit:I am the Science Lead for the Plasma Analyser (PLA) instrument on board ESA’s Vigil mission<\/a>. Vigil is an operational space-weather mission<\/a> to monitor the sources and effects of space weather from the fifth Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system. From this new vantage point, Vigil will detect fast solar-wind streams more than four days before they point towards the Earth. In addition, Vigil’s remote-sensing payload will provide advance observations of the source regions of space weather: the Sun’s surface and atmosphere (corona). PLA is currently being built by UCL\/MSSL. It will provide continuous and fast measurements of the proton density, speed, and temperature at the fifth Lagrange point. Vigil is planned to launch at the end of this decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Credit:I am the Instrument Lead Scientist (ILS) of the Mars – Electron Analyser System (M-EAS). This instrument is part of the Mars – Ensemble of Particle Instruments (M-EPI) suite of the M-MATISSE mission. M-MATISSE stands for “Mars – Magnetosphere Atmosphere Ionosphere and Space-weather Science”. It is a two-spacecraft mission that is currently under study in Phase A as a candidate for ESA’s M7 mission selection<\/A>. M-MATISSE will study space weather at Mars and thus prepare for the safety of our future robotic and human exploration of the red planet. M-EAS will measure electrons from the solar wind and photo-electrons that come from the planet’s ionosphere. In addition, M-EAS will detect negative ions that will help us understand the interactions between Mars and its cosmic neighbourhood. The M-EAS sensor builds on heritage from Solar Orbiter’s SWA\/EAS sensor and is currently studied and developed by UCL\/MSSL. M-EAS will provide measurements of the electron distribution function across a very wide field of view on both spacecraft of the M-MATISSE mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"I am a Co-Investigator for the Solar Wind Plasma Analyser (SWA)<\/a> instrument on board ESA’s Solar Orbiter<\/a> spacecraft. Solar Orbiter launched in February 2020 and explores the inner heliosphere and its connection with the Sun in great detail. The SWA instrument suite measures the in-situ properties of protons, electrons, alpha particles, and heavy ions with unprecedented resolution and quality. Here is some of the media coverage that the launch of Solar Orbiter generated with my involvement:<\/p>\n