yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (04/05/89)
Paula Cleggett-Haleim
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. April 4, 1989
RELEASE: 89-43
NASA SELECTS SMALL EXPLORER MISSIONS
Dr. Lennard A. Fisk, associate administrator for NASA's
Office of Space Science and Applications (OSSA), today announced
the selection of the first Small Explorer missions, which will
study some of the most important questions in space physics,
astrophysics and upper atmosphere science.
Termed Small Explorers, these spacecraft weigh approximately
400 lbs. and can be launched from available Scout-class
expendable launch vehicles.
The Small Explorer Program, a vital element of the OSSA
strategic plan, provides frequent flight opportunities for highly
focussed and relatively inexpensive space science missions.
These missions allow critical training opportunities for the next
generation of scientists and engineers.
The selected studies, chosen from 51 submissions, propose
the following:
o A study of solar energetic particles, anomalous cosmic rays,
galactic cosmic rays and magnetospheric electrons would be
launched in mid-1992. Called Solar, Anomalous and Magnetospheric
Particle Explorer, this study was proposed by Dr. Glenn M. Mason,
University of Maryland, College Park, and 10 co-investigators
from American and German institutions.
o A study of how molecular clouds collapse to form stars and
planetary systems, called the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy
Satellite, would be launched in mid-1993. The principal
investigator is Dr. Gary J. Melnick, Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass., heading a team of 11 co-
investigators from institutions across the U.S. and Cologne,
Germany.
o An investigation of the processes operating within the
auroral region, called Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer, would be
launched in late 1993. Dr. Charles Carlson, University of
California, Berkeley, is the principal investigator. The co-
investigators are from Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory,
Calif., and the University of California at Berkeley and Los
Angeles.
o A study of stratospheric ozone is the mission of the Total
Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS). It will provide daily mapping
of global ozone and detect global ozone trends. TOMS was
proposed by Dr. Charles E. Cote and nine co-investigators, all
from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Md.
This investigation is a high-priority Earth observing mission
that is critical to monitoring long-term stratospheric ozone
depletion trends.
The Small Explorer Program is managed by the GSFC Special
Payloads Division. Costs for developing such spacecraft and
instrument payloads are expected to average $30 million.
The Explorer Program is a long-standing NASA program for
launching small and moderate-sized space science mission
payloads. Over 75 U.S. and cooperative-international scientific
space missions have been part of the Explorer Program. For
example, the International Ultraviolet Explorer, which produced
astronomical data for more than 1,400 articles in scientific
journals, continues to operate after more than 10 years in Earth
orbit.