Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer
SAMPEX was the first mission in NASA's Small Explorer program. Four particle instruments measured galactic and anomalous cosmic rays, solar energetic particles, and energetic electrons trapped in Earth's magnetosphere, using the planet's magnetic field and the spacecraft's near-polar orbit to distinguish particle populations and their charge states.
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Identity
- Aliases
- SAMPEXExplorer 68
- Name
- Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer
- Slug
- solar-anomalous-and-magnetospheric-particle-explorer
- Status
- completed
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- SAMPEX was the first mission in NASA's Small Explorer program. Four particle instruments measured galactic and anomalous cosmic rays, solar energetic particles, and energetic electrons trapped in Earth's magnetosphere, using the planet's magnetic field and the spacecraft's near-polar orbit to distinguish particle populations and their charge states.
- End Date
- 2012-11-13
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- SAMPEX entered its near-polar low Earth orbit and operated far beyond its three-year design life. NASA recorded a program completion milestone on June 30, 2004, but the spacecraft continued returning radiation-belt and energetic-particle observations until its orbit decayed; it reentered Earth's atmosphere on November 13, 2012 after nearly twenty years of operation.
- Program
- Small Explorer
- Start Date
- 1992-07-03
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/sampex/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- July 18, 2026 at 17:14:55 UTC
- Updated Time
- July 18, 2026 at 17:14:55 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles