Low Earth Orbit
A summary of near-Earth spacecraft carrying high quality magnetometers. For more info, see e.g. Olsen & Stolle, 2012. The focus here is on satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) that produced data suitable for geomagnetic field modelling, though these satellites typically also carry instruments that measure the electric field and plasma environment.
| Mission name | Years | Description | Data access |
|---|---|---|---|
| POGO | 1965-1971 | [NASA] “Polar Orbiting Geophysical Observatories” (OGO-2,4,6) | DTU |
| Magsat | 1979-1980 | [NASA] First “high accuracy” vector magnetometry in space | DTU; NASA |
| Ørsted | 1999-2014 | Led by what is now DTU Space | DTU |
| CHAMP | 2000-2010 | Led by GFZ & DLR - a fore-runner for the Swarm mission | GFZ |
| SAC-C | 2001-2004 | Led by CONAE & NASA | DTU |
| Swarm | 2013-???? | ESA Earth Explorer constellation mission - originally 3 spacecraft but now growing | Direct access; GUI; Python |
Schematic of a Swarm spacecraft:
Image credit: ESA
[TODO: magnetosphere & heliosphere missions]