Solar Physics Missions

The spacecraft carries 10 separate instruments to investigate our Sun. MSSL is the Principal Investigator (PI) on the SWA solar wind detector suite, and Co-PI on the EUI remote sensing camera

MSSL leads the consortium that built and operates the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) which provides plasma diagnostics in the solar chromosphere, transition region and corona. 2006

The Charged Couple Devices (CCD) to obtain measurements of a ‘full disk’ single exposure and high quality spectral information to decipher the flows, temperatures and densities solar material 2006

MSSL is a co-investigator institute on the Coronal Diagnostic Spectrometer (CDS) on SOHO investigating the outer layer of the Sun, solar wind and probing the interior structure of the Sun. 1996

The Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS) to observe in X-ray radiation the energetic phenomena occurring in the solar atmosphere or corona, such as solar flares and gamma-ray emissions - 1991

The Coronal Helium Abundance Spacelab Experiment, (CHASE) aimed primarily at deriving the solar helium abundance from measurements of coronal resonance scattering - 1984

X-ray Polychromator (XRP) designed to investigate Solar phenomena - 1980

X-Ray instruments where designed to detect high energy cosmic rays, determine the total flux of solar X-rays and to measure Van Allen belt protons and cosmic ray protons. - 1968

The X-ray telescope consisted of a single thin NaI(Tl) scintillation crystal plus phototube assembly enclosed in a CsI(Tl) anti-coincidence shield. - 1967

Ariel-I making the first spectroscopic X-ray observations of solar flares.- Dr. E. B. Dorling, Sir Robert L. F. Boyd - 1962