The Fluxgate Magnetometer (MAG) on Board Aditya-L1 Spacecraft

Abstract

The Fluxgate Magnetometer (MAG) is one of the seven instruments on board Aditya-L1 spacecraft to sample the local magnetic field environment around the first Lagrangian point (L1) while continuously observing the Sun. These in situ magnetic field measurements are crucial in detecting coronal mass ejections (CMEs), as well for space weather studies in the vicinity of the Earth, and the apparent detection of solar plasma wave signatures at L1. The MAG payload has a set of fluxgate magnetic sensors mounted on the Sun-viewing panel deck and is configured to deploy along the negative roll direction of the spacecraft. Two sets of triaxial fluxgate sensors are mounted on a 6-m long boom with one set at the tip of the boom and the other at the centre of the boom around 3 m away from the spacecraft towards the boom tip. The boom is mounted to be deployed along the –roll axis of the spacecraft. The power supply and the processing electronics for the MAG payload are enclosed in a box, which is placed inside the +yaw panel of the spacecraft. Each of the two triaxial fluxgate sensors measures the interplanetary magnetic field vectors at L1 in the default range of ± 256 nT per axis once every 125 ms. The observed magnetic field data is time stamped at the spacecraft with the on board clock and transmitted to ground once every day when the visibility is for 12 hours, along with the house-keeping parameters, ephemeris, and the science data from the other six payloads.

In this technical paper, the Aditya-L1 MAG instrument details are presented, along with the initial observations in the halo-orbit around L1.