Observations of Jupiter's Magnetosheath with the Galileo Plasma Instrumentation

The Galileo spacecraft was launched on October 18, 1989 to study Jupiter and its moons. The Plasma Subsystem Instrumentation (PLS) is one of several instruments to measure properties of Jupiter's magnetosphere. The PLS comprises a nested set of four spherical-plate electrostatic analyzers and three miniature, magnetic mass spectrometers. The three-dimensional velocity distributions of positive ions and electrons, separately, are determined for the energy-per-unit charge (E/Q) range of 0.9 V to 52 kV. The velocity distributions are used to determine the composition, energy, temperature, density, and three-dimensional distribution and bulk motions of low-energy plasma in the spacecraft's immediate environment. The purpose of this project is to use the PLS data to understand the behavior of ions located in the magnetosheath. The results will provide better information on the transport of mass and energy in Jupiter's magnetosphere.