UNIVERSAL HELIUM MAGNETOMETER FOR SPACE

A NOVEL HELIUM MAGNETOMETER WILL BE EXAMINED FOR OBSERVATIONOF MAGNETIC FIELDS OF PLANETS AND INTERPLANETARY SPACE. THE MAGNETOMETER EMPLOYS A DUAL MODE OF OPERATION, WITH A SINGLE, OPTICALLY PUMPED HELIUM SENSOR TO OBSERVE THE MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION OF MAGNETIC FIELDS AS GREAT AS 10(5)NT. THE INSTRUMENT, CALLED A THE UNIVERSAL HELIUM MAGNETOMETER (UHM), USES A VECTOR HELIUM MAGNETOMETER (VHM) MODE TO OBSERVE FIELDS BELOW 500NT. FOR FIELDS GREATER THAN500NT, A SCALAR HELIUM MAGNETOMETER (SHM) MODE OF OPERATION WILL BE USED. A NOVEL OPTICAL TECHNIQUE INCORPORATING A MINIATURIZED TUNABLE LASER WILL BE USED TO LOCATE THE POSITION OF THE MAGNETIC-FIELD VECTOR. THE TUNABLE LASER PERMITS SINGLE-LINE PUMPING THAT SHOULD ACHIEVE AN ACCURACY OF 1 PART IN 10(5) OF THE FIELD MAGNITUDE. THE UHM SENSOR WILL BE SIMILAR TO THE CURRENT JPL VHM SENSOR IN MASS AND SIZE. PHASE I WILL DEFINE THE CONCEPT FOR THE UHM INSTRUMENT, THE SENSOR CONFIGURATION, AND THE ELECTRONIC-MODULE CONCEPTS FOR THE LOW-FIELD VECTOR MODE, HIGH-FIELD SCALAR MODE, AND MAGNETIC VECTOR POSITIONING MODE. THIS WILL ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF THE UHM APPROACH AND LEAD TO DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A BREADBOARD UHM INSTRUMENT IN PHASE II. A NOVEL HELIUM MAGNETOMETER WILL BE EXAMINED FOR OBSERVATIONOF MAGNETIC FIELDS OF PLANETS AND INTERPLANETARY SPACE. THE MAGNETOMETER EMPLOYS A DUAL MODE OF OPERATION, WITH A SINGLE, OPTICALLY PUMPED HELIUM SENSOR TO OBSERVE THE MAGNITUDE AND DIRECTION OF MAGNETIC FIELDS AS GREAT AS 10(5)NT. THE INSTRUMENT, CALLED A THE UNIVERSAL HELIUM MAGNETOMETER (UHM), USES A VECTOR HELIUM MAGNETOMETER (VHM) MODE TO OBSERVE FIELDS BELOW 500NT. FOR FIELDS GREATER THAN500NT, A SCALAR HELIUM MAGNETOMETER (SHM) MODE OF OPERATION WILL BE USED. A NOVEL OPTICAL TECHNIQUE INCORPORATING A MINIATURIZED TUNABLE LASER WILL BE USED TO LOCATE THE POSITION OF THE MAGNETIC-FIELD VECTOR. THE TUNABLE LASER PERMITS SINGLE-LINE PUMPING THAT SHOULD ACHIEVE AN ACCURACY OF 1 PART IN 10(5) OF THE FIELD MAGNITUDE. THE UHM SENSOR WILL BE SIMILAR TO THE CURRENT JPL VHM SENSOR IN MASS AND SIZE. PHASE I WILL DEFINE THE CONCEPT FOR THE UHM INSTRUMENT, THE SENSOR CONFIGURATION, AND THE ELECTRONIC-MODULE CONCEPTS FOR THE LOW-FIELD VECTOR MODE, HIGH-FIELD SCALAR MODE, AND MAGNETIC VECTOR POSITIONING MODE. THIS WILL ESTABLISH THE FEASIBILITY OF THE UHM APPROACH AND LEAD TO DESIGN AND FABRICATION OF A BREADBOARD UHM INSTRUMENT IN PHASE II.