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

  • Released Monday, July 6, 2009
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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.

This page was originally published on Monday, July 6, 2009.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:54 PM EDT.

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