Numerical simulation of the sensor output on Macao Science Satellite-1

Macao Science Satellite-1(MSS-1)will be launched at the early of 2023 into a near-circular orbit.The mission is designed to measure the Earth’s geomagnetic field with unpreceded accuracy through a new perspective.The most important component installed on the satellite,to ensure high accuracy,is the deployable boom(Optical Bench).A Vector Field Magnetometer(VFM),an Advanced Stellar Compass(ASC),and a Couple Dark State Magnetometers(CDSM)are deployed on the deployable boom.In order to maximize the mission’s scientific output,a numerical simulator on MSS-1’s deployable boom was required to evaluate the adaptability of all devices on the deployable boom and assist the satellite’s data pre-processing.This paper first briefly describes the synthesis of the Earth’s total magnetic field and then describes the method simulating the output of scalar and vector magnetometers.Finally,the calibration method is applied to the synthetic magnetometer data to analyze the possible noise/error of the relevant instruments.Our results show that the simulator can imitate the disturbance of different noise sources or errors in the measuring system,and is especially useful for the satellite’s data processing group.

Influences of various space current systems on the geomagnetic field in near-Earth space

Ground and space-based observations of the geomagnetic field are usually a superposition of different sources from the Earth’s core,lithosphere,ocean,ionosphere,and magnetosphere,and also from field-aligned currents coupling the ionosphere and magnetosphere—the meridional currents that connect the two hemispheres and the induced currents due to the variations of fields over time.The fluctuation of magnetic fields generated by these highly dynamic space currents greatly limits the accuracy of the geomagnetic models.In order to better accomplish the scientific objectives of Macao Science Satellite-1(MSS-1),and to improve existing geomagnetic field models,we present here for the first time a self-consistent coupling of solar wind,magnetosphere,and ionosphere,which represents the most developed numerical simulation method for space physics research so far,making it possible to quantify the contribution of different current systems to the total observed magnetic field(B).The results show that numerical simulation can capture main magnetic disturbance characteristics with significant precision.Partial ring current is a major contributor to the latitudinal magnetic perturbation near the equator.Magnetopause and magnetotail currents affect the radial magnetic perturbation around the mid-latitudes.Field-aligned and Pedersen currents produce significant longitudinal and latitudinal magnetic perturbations at high latitudes.