Ireland's contribution to deep space missions

Abstract

Irish contributions to the Giotto mission, the Phobos mission, and the planned International Solar Terrestrial Physics (ISTP) program are discussed. Results are presented from the Energetic Particle Onset Admonitor (Epona) experiment, which flew on the Giotto mission. The Epona instruments detected electrons, protons, alpha particles, and pickup ions associated with Comet Halley. Other topics examined include the SLED experiment to study energetic-particle populations as part of the Phobos mission and expectations for Irish participation in the ISTP program, including the construction of a plasma and radio wave receiver.