What is HYDRA?
HYDRA is a collection of electrostatic analyzers designed for high resolution observations of electron and ion velocity distributions in the earth's polar magnetosphere.
HYDRA, which is being flown on the POLAR spacecraft
(
ISTP POLAR web site or
GGS POLAR web site)
as part of the Global Geospace Science (GGS) initiative, was designed and constructed by a
consortium of institutions for the purpose of improving our understanding of the complex interactions of the polar magnetosphere with the solar wind and the ionosphere.
Scientific Objectives
The scientific goals of the HYDRA project fall into three categories:
- Observation of the velocity space signatures which identify the sources of particles detected in the polar magnetosphere
- Improvement of our understanding of the coupling of the plasma to the magnetic field in the polar magnetosphere where ideal MHD ordering breaks down
- Elucidation of time-dependent processes which occur in the auroral zone
These goals will be realized with the high time and phase space resolution possible with the HYDRA analyzers.
HYDRA Subsystems
Data Collection Strategies
Author: Pamela Puhl-Quinn
Created: May 15, 1997 by Pamela Puhl-Quinn
Last Revised: March 19, 2002 by David D. Morgan
Please send comments and suggestions to
robert-holdaway@uiowa.edu