Energetic neutral atom imaging of Jupiter's magnetosphere using the Cassini MIMI instrument

Abstract

Energetic Neutral Atoms (ENA's) are generated within planetary magnetospheres by charge exchange between magnetically trapped energetic ions and cool neutral gasses. An ENA camera can sense the arrival directions, the energies, and the mass species of the ENA's, thereby obtaining global images of the spatial, energy, and mass species distributions of the parent ion populations. Such a camera, the Ion and Neutral Camera (INCA), will fly with the Cassini mission to Saturn as a component of the Magnetospheric Imaging Instrument (MIMI). We evaluate the prospects of obtaining global images of Jupiter's magnetosphere by Cassini INCA during the gravity assist flyby of Jupiter. INCA images could make ground-breaking contributions to our understanding of the global dynamics and configuration of the Jovian magnetosphere. © 1998 COSPAR. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.