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| Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) |
| Operator | National Aeronautics and Space Administration / European Space Agency |
| Mission | Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory |
| Spacecraft | STEREO (spacecraft) |
| Manufacturer | Applied Physics Laboratory |
| Type | Ion composition spectrometer |
| Launch | STEREO A: 2006-10-25; STEREO B: 2006-10-25 |
| Orbit | Heliocentric |
Plasma and Suprathermal Ion Composition (PLASTIC) PLASTIC is a spaceborne ion composition instrument flown on the STEREO (spacecraft) mission, designed to measure solar wind ions and suprathermal particles. Developed and built by the Applied Physics Laboratory with contributions from institutions such as University of New Hampshire, PLASTIC provided high-cadence composition and velocity measurements to support studies of solar eruptions and heliospheric structure.
PLASTIC was conceived to characterize ion populations originating from the Sun and their evolution through the inner heliosphere, correlating composition signatures with events observed by observatories like SOHO, Hinode, and Solar Dynamics Observatory. The instrument addressed scientific priorities set by organizations including the National Academy of Sciences, NASA, and the European Space Agency and interfaced with mission operations centers at Goddard Space Flight Center and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Its data complemented measurements from contemporaneous missions and facilities such as ACE, WIND, Ulysses, Parker Solar Probe, and ground-based observatories tied to agencies like NOAA and institutions such as Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
PLASTIC combined electrostatic analyzers, time-of-flight sections, and solid-state detectors similar to instruments developed at Johns Hopkins University, University of Bern, and Argonne National Laboratory. The instrument architecture drew on heritage from experiments aboard Voyager 2, Galileo, and Cassini–Huygens, employing ion optics tuned for protons, alpha particles, and heavy ions from elements like oxygen, carbon, and iron. Its operation required command sequences approved by Mission Operations Directorate (NASA), with calibration campaigns coordinated by laboratories at University of Colorado Boulder and Stanford University. Electronics and data systems integrated flight software concepts developed in collaboration with teams at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and California Institute of Technology, while thermal and mechanical design followed standards from Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Primary objectives targeted the composition, charge states, and velocity distributions of solar wind and suprathermal ions to diagnose coronal source regions and acceleration mechanisms linked to coronal mass ejections and solar flares. PLASTIC measured ion mass-per-charge and energy-per-charge to resolve populations associated with phenomena observed by NOAA GOES, RHESSI, TRACE, and SOHO/LASCO. The instrument provided composition constraints essential for testing theories by researchers at institutions such as Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, University of California, Berkeley, Princeton University, and University of Michigan. These measurements informed models from groups at Los Alamos National Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, and University of Washington addressing particle transport and acceleration in contexts studied by International Space Science Institute workshops.
PLASTIC was one of in-situ payloads on the twin STEREO (spacecraft) observatories, launched with support from contractors including Boeing and integration facilities at Kennedy Space Center. After launch in 2006, the two spacecraft entered heliocentric orbits providing stereoscopic views of the Sun and enabling conjugate measurements with remote imagers such as SECCHI. Flight operations coordinated cross-calibration activities with teams from European Space Operations Centre, GSFC, and the STEREO Science Center. Over its operational lifetime, PLASTIC contributed data during major events like the 2012 solar storms and routine solar wind intervals, while recovering from anomalies with troubleshooting led by the Applied Physics Laboratory and university partners.
PLASTIC produced high-resolution compositional signatures that clarified source-region differentiation between fast and slow solar wind, linking coronal hole outflows to signatures identified by researchers at Dartmouth College, University of Minnesota, and Northwestern University. The instrument documented suprathermal seed populations preceding coronal mass ejection shocks, supporting acceleration models developed at University of Chicago and Imperial College London. PLASTIC data enabled correlation of ionic charge states with coronal temperatures inferred from spectrometers on Hinode and SDO, influencing studies by teams at University College London, Boston University, and Rice University. Cross-mission analyses with ACE, WIND, and Parker Solar Probe refined understanding of transport processes investigated by groups at University of Colorado and Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, and contributed to heliospheric models maintained by European Space Agency and NASA modelers.
Calibration efforts used laboratory facilities at Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and university testbeds to characterize detector response, with in-flight cross-calibration against ACE/SWICS and ground truth comparisons coordinated through the STEREO Science Center. Data processing pipelines were developed by teams at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, University of New Hampshire, and Godard Space Flight Center producing Level 0 through Level 3 products archived alongside datasets from SECCHI and IMPACT in repositories curated by NASA Space Physics Data Facility and mirrored at institutional archives such as University of California, Los Angeles. PLASTIC datasets remain available for reanalysis by researchers affiliated with entities like European Space Research and Technology Centre, National Center for Atmospheric Research, and university consortia, supporting ongoing investigations into heliophysics and space weather phenomena.
Category:Spacecraft instruments Category:Solar physics instruments