Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) Dayside Orbit Animation for the Preliminary Design Review (PDR)

  • Released Monday, July 6th, 2009
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:54PM
  • ID: 3605

This visualization uses simulated ephemerides to show the proposed orbits of the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) during the "dayside magnetosheath/magnetopause" orbit phase. The movie initially shows the general orientation of the orbit with respect to the Earth, Moon, and Sun. It then zooms in to "ride" along with the spacecraft. We then zoom in even closer to show that there are actually four spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation. Finally, we see how the 4 spacecraft skim the magnetosheath such that, occasionally, some of the spacecraft are inside (e.g., MMS #1) and some are outside (e.g., MMS #2, #3, and #4) of the magnetosheath boundary.

This visualization was created in support of the MMS Preliminary Design Review (PDR) which was held May 4 - 7, 2009.

MMS dayside magnetosheath/magnetopuase orbit configuration

Earth, magnetoshealth, Moon's orbit, and the Sun

Earth, magnetoshealth, Moon's orbit, and the Sun

View from Earth's north (i.e., top down) showing the Moon's orbit, the magnetosheath, and the MMS dayside magnetosheath/magnetopause orbit

View from Earth's north (i.e., top down) showing the Moon's orbit, the magnetosheath, and the MMS dayside magnetosheath/magnetopause orbit

Another top down view showing how the MMS dayside magnetosheath/magnetopause orbit takes the spacecraft to the magnetosheath boundary (available with and without labels)

Another top down view showing how the MMS dayside magnetosheath/magnetopause orbit takes the spacecraft to the magnetosheath boundary (available with and without labels)

MMS orbit with Earth's magnetic field lines (available with and without labels)

MMS orbit with Earth's magnetic field lines (available with and without labels)

The tetrahedral flying configuration of the 4 MMS spacrcraft (available with and without labels)

The tetrahedral flying configuration of the 4 MMS spacrcraft (available with and without labels)

Another view of the tetrahedral MMS formation (available with and without labels)

Another view of the tetrahedral MMS formation (available with and without labels)

Close up of MMS tetrahedron skimming the magnetosheath - some of the spacecraft (e.g., MMS #1) are inside the boundary while others (e.g., MMS #2, #3, and #4) are outside

Close up of MMS tetrahedron skimming the magnetosheath - some of the spacecraft (e.g., MMS #1) are inside the boundary while others (e.g., MMS #2, #3, and #4) are outside

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio The Blue Marble Next Generation data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC) and NASA's Earth Observatory.

Missions

This visualization is related to the following missions:

Datasets used in this visualization

Terra and Aqua BMNG (A.K.A. Blue Marble: Next Generation) (Collected with the MODIS sensor)

Credit: The Blue Marble data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC).

Dataset can be found at: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/BlueMarble/

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CPC (Climate Prediction Center) Cloud Composite
Data Compilation Climate Prediction Center (CPC) 2008/06/01

Global cloud cover from multiple satellites

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Magnetic Field Lines (Luhmann-Friesen) (Collected with the Luhmann-Friesen Magnetosphere Model (1979) sensor)
Model

Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 84, Aug. 1, 1979, p. 4405-4408

Dataset can be found at: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1979JGR....84.4405L

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Simulated MMS Ephemeris
Ephemeris 03/29/2015 - 04/04/2015
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Hipparcos Tycho Catalogue (A.K.A. Tycho 2 Catalogue) (Collected with the Telescope sensor)
Database November 1989 to March 1993

Dataset can be found at: http://archive.eso.org/ASTROM/

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