| |
Fundamental TechnologiesUlysses HISCALE Pages |
The HISCALE instrument is one of nine scientific instrument packages on board the Ulysses spacecraft that studies magnetic fields in space, the solar wind, x-rays and energetic particles from solar flares, cosmic rays from interstellar space, cosmic dust, and radio sources from the Sun. HISCALE specifically detects low energy ions and electrons.
The acronym HISCALE stands for: Heliosphere Instrument for Spectra, Composition, and Anisotropy at Low Energies.
The Ulysses Project was formerly called the International Solar Polar Mission. Project officials searched for a more exciting name for the project, and Professor Bruno Bertotti, principal investigator of the gravitational wave experiment, suggested the name Ulysses, who was a character from Dante's Inferno. Ulysses set out on his ship to explore the "uninhabited world beyond the Sun" and prodded his discouraged crew to "follow after knowledge and excellence."
The entire Ulysses spacecraft measures 3.2 meters by 3.3 meters by 2.1 meters--about the size of an automobile--and weighs 370 kg. The scientific instruments weigh only a total of 55 kg. The HISCALE instrument weighs 5.775 kg.
The HISCALE instrument consists of five separate solid-state detector telescopes that are oriented to give almost complete sky coverage from the spinning spacecraft.
The Ulysses Project is a collaborative effort of many organizations, including four NASA centers (Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Kennedy Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Johnson Space Center), two European Space Agency organizations (European Space and Technology Centre and European Space Operations Centre), and 49 scientific institutions in 12 countries.
Return to Ulysses HISCALE main page.
Return to Fundamental Technologies Home Page.
Last modified Sept. 29, 2009
T. Hunt-Ward
tizby@ftecs/com