The Psyche Magnetometry Investigation
Name
11214_2023_Article_965.pdf
Size
3.55 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
67340755751f726a5e7c35aee256e4c9
Author(s)
Weiss, Benjamin P.
Merayo, José M. G.
Ream, Jodie B.
Oran, Rona
Brauer, Peter
Cochrane, Corey J.
Cloutier, Kyle
Elkins-Tanton, Linda T.
Jørgensen, John L.
Maurel, Clara
Date Issued
March 28, 2023
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Citation
Space Science Reviews. 2023 Mar 28;219(3):22
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Abstract
The objective of the Psyche Magnetometry Investigation is to test the hypothesis that asteroid (16) Psyche formed from the core of a differentiated planetesimal. To address this, the Psyche Magnetometer will measure the magnetic field around the asteroid to search for evidence of remanent magnetization. Paleomagnetic measurements of meteorites and dynamo theory indicate that a diversity of planetesimals once generated dynamo magnetic fields in their metallic cores. Likewise, the detection of a strong magnetic moment (
>
2
×
10
14
Am
2
$>2\times10^{14}~\text{Am}^{2}$
) at Psyche would likely indicate that the body once generated a core dynamo, implying that it formed by igneous differentiation. The Psyche Magnetometer consists of two three-axis fluxgate Sensor Units (SUs) mounted 0.7 m apart along a 2.15-m long boom and connected to two Electronics Units (EUs) located within the spacecraft bus. The Magnetometer samples at up to 50 Hz, has a range of
±
80
,
000
nT
$\pm80{,}000~\text{nT}$
, and an instrument noise of
39
pT
axis
−
1
3
σ
$39~\text{pT}\,\text{axis}^{-1}\,3\sigma $
integrated over 0.1 to 1 Hz. The two pairs of SUs and EUs provide redundancy and enable gradiometry measurements to suppress noise from flight system magnetic fields. The Magnetometer will be powered on soon after launch and acquire data for the full duration of the mission. The ground data system processes the Magnetometer measurements to obtain an estimate of Psyche’s dipole moment.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11214-023-00965-z
