- 1Institute of Science and Technology for Deep Space Exploration, Nanjing University, Suzhou 215163, China (lgkong@nju.edu.cn)
- 2National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- 3State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, National Space Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- 4Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St. Mary, Surrey RH5 6NT, United Kingdom
- 5LPP/CNRS, Ecole Polytechnique, UPMC, Saint-Maur des Fossés, France
- 6European Space Research and Technology Center, European Space Agency, Noordwijk 2201AZ, The Netherlands
- 7Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) San Antonio, United States
- 8Space Science and Planetology, Physics Institute, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- 9Institute of Space Science, Atomistilor 409, Magurele, Romania
- 10Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, Avenue Circulaire 3, 1180 Brussels, Belgium
The Light Ion Analyzer (LIA) instrument, part of the Solar-wind-Magnetosphere–Ionosphere-link- Explorer (SMILE) mission, is designed to measure the ion velocity distribution function within an energy range of 5 eV up to 25 keV. LIA provides in-situ measurements of the ion velocity distribution functions of the solar-wind and magnetosheath, from which the moments can be derived on ground, serving as an upstream input for the magnetosphere-ionosphere downstream responses. Two identical 2π sr field-of-view LIA instruments are mounted on two opposite sides of the spacecraft platform, offering a combined 4π sr instantaneous field-of-view. Each LIA consists of a top-hat electrostatic analyzer, electrostatic aperture deflectors, and a microchannel plate detector for analyzing the energy, direction, and flux of ions. Depending on operation mode, the angular resolution ranges from 22.5° to 5.625° in elevation and from 30° to 7.5° in azimuth, and the time resolution spans from 0.25 to 2 seconds. This paper describes the design of the LIA, its performance, ground calibration, operation procedures, and resultant data products.
How to cite: Kong, L., Dai, L., Zhang, A., Nicolaou, G., Berthomier, M., Gao, J., Su, B., Escoubet, P., Wang, C., Li, L., Ren, Y., Wang, W., Lv, Y., Kataria, D., Wurz, P., Raab, W., Vey, S., and Echim, M.: The Light Ion Analyzer (LIA) for SMILE mission: design, ground calibration and data products, EGU General Assembly 2025, Vienna, Austria, 27 Apr–2 May 2025, EGU25-9904, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu25-9904, 2025.
