Terrestrial plasmaspheric imaging by an Extreme Ultraviolet Scanner on planet‐B

Abstract

An extreme ultraviolet (XUV) scanner on board the Mars orbiter, Planet‐B, observed the terrestrial plasmasphere while it was in a parking orbit around the earth. The image was available only for the dusk side of the plasmasphere. Nonetheless, this was the first image from the outside of the plasmasphere. Future missions, such as the NASA IMAGE mission in 2000 as well as the Japanese plasmaspheric imaging telescope on SELENE in 2003 will provide further information on this region.