NSSDCA ID: 1973-085A-04
Mission Name: Mariner 10This experiment consisted of two triaxial fluxgate magnetometers mounted on a common boom, 2.3 m and 5.8 m from the spacecraft, and designed to measure the vector magnetic field in the vicinity of Mercury and Venus and in the interplanetary medium. Outputs from the two magnetometers were simultaneously analyzed to separate ambient fields from spacecraft fields. Each sensor had dual operating ranges of +/-16 nT and +/-128 nT, with digitization accuracies of 0.03 nT and 0.26 nT, respectively. Bias offset capability extended the operating range to +/-3188 nT. During the primary phase of the mission (November 3, 1973, to March 29, 1974) and during the second and third Mercury encounters, 25 vectors per second were sampled by the primary outboard magnetometer and transmitted to Earth. At other times, a lower data rate mode was used during which five vectors per second were transmitted. The experiment functioned normally throughout the life of the spacecraft.
Mass: 4.3 kg
Power (avg): 13.6 W
Bit rate (avg): 1.052 kbps
Questions and comments about this experiment can be directed to: Dr. Edwin V. Bell, II
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Prof. Yun Chow Whang | Co-Investigator | Catholic University of America | wbycw@lepvax.gsfc.nasa.gov |
Dr. Ronald P. Lepping | Co-Investigator | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | ronald.p.lepping@gmail.com |
Dr. Kenneth W. Behannon | Co-Investigator | NASA Goddard Space Flight Center | |
Dr. Kenneth H. Schatten | Co-Investigator | Victoria University of Wellington | kschatte@nsd.gov |