The plasma observatory (PO) is a proposal currently in phase a study as one of three missions being considered for ESA's 7TH mclass mission to be launched in 2037.this proposal is for the US to…

This federal contract award is for the University of New Hampshire (UNH), part of the University System of New Hampshire (USNH), to participate in the 2-year Phase A study of the Plasma Observatory (PO) mission, which is being considered for the European Space Agency's 7th M-class mission to be launched in 2037. UNH will provide the time-of-flight sections, the micro channel plate detector assembly, and the steady high voltages power supplies for the Ion Mass Spectrometer (IMS) sensor, a critical component of the PO mission. The total ceiling value of this Cooperative Agreement is $399,996.00, with an award date of October 15, 2024, and an ultimate completion date of October 14, 2026. This contract is not set aside and is being awarded by a civilian agency, the Shared Services Center. UNH has an extensive history of supporting federal agencies through scientific research, technical assistance, and educational services, including work on NASA missions and naval research.

The plasma observatory (PO) is a proposal currently in phase a study as one of three missions being considered for ESA's 7TH mclass mission to be launched in 2037.this proposal is for the US to provide a significant contribution to the ION mass spectrometer (IMS) on the plasma observatory mother spacecraft. This heliophysics mission will explore plasma processes in earth's near-earth space from an equatorial orbit, in order to addresses the following science questions: (Q1) how particles are energised in space and (Q2) which processes dominate energy transport and drive coupling across regions of earth's magnetosphere. PO's orbit is selected to maximise time in the key science regions (KSR), the foreshock, the BOW shock, the magnetosheath, the magnetopause, the magnetail current sheet, and the transition region between the magnetotail and the inner region dominated by the dipole magnetic field. The science questions being pursued by PO are aligned with the goals of NASA's SMD, to understand the physical processes, and sun- earth connections, and to advance our capability to predict space weather at earth. The IMS, consisting of 4 identical time of flight mass spectrometers, satisfies measurement and performance requirements for the plasma observatory mission, providing mass resolved ION distribution functions over the energy range 10EV/e - 30 KEV/e with 10% energy resolution and 11.25% angular resolution at 150 MS resolution for h+, 300 MS for he++, and 1S resolution for o+. As a critical component of the PO mission, the development of the IMS sensor is critical to continue the plasma observatory development. UNH will provide the time-of-flight sections, the micro channel plate detector assembly, and the steady high voltages power supplies, leveraging their experience providing these subsystems for many previous missions. This proposal seeks for funding for the US IMS team to participate in that 2-year phase a study with our european partners.