The ACE/MAG instrument is measuring the local interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) direction and magnitude and establish the large scale structure and fluctuation characteristics of the IMF at 1 AU upstream of Earth as functions of time throughout the mission. The two Magnetometers on ACE are wide-range (+-0.004 to 65536 nanoTesla) triaxial fluxgate magnetometers. They are mounted remotely from the spacecraft on separate booms in order to reduce any effect of magnetics from the spacecraft and other instruments. They measure the amplitude and direction of the interplanetary magnetic field thirty times per second and can do Fast Fourier Analysis on these measurements to get the frequency spectrum of fluctuations in the magnetic field.
MAG is one of the four instruments that supply data for the NOAA Real Time Solar Wind 24-hour monitoring of Space Weather.
The magnetometers are flight spares from the WIND mission, with minor modifications, and were developed by a collaboration between:
Magnetometer Sensor and Electronics Box - 330 KB JPEG
Magnetometer Sensor - 57 KB JPEG
Magnetometer Electronics Box - 430 KB JPEG
Magnetometer Analog Electronics Board - 490 KB JPEG
Magnetometer Digital Electronics Board - 420 KB JPEG
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