Basics of Space Flight Section II. Flight Projects

Instrument	Investigators	Description	Some Scientific Objectives
CDA Cosmic Dust Analyzer	Principal Investigator: Ralf Srama Max Plank Institut fźr Kernphysik,Heidelberg, Germany	Dust analyzer measures dust particles' electric charge, direction and speed of impact, and the particles' mass and chemical composition, using impact ionisation. A separate high rate detector, for measuring high impact rates during ring plane crossings, is capable of determining the mass of particles with a known speed, using two separate polyvinylidene fluoride sensors.	Extend studies of interplanetary dust sizes and orbits out to the distance of Saturn, define dust and meteoroid distribution near Saturn's rings, and map the size distribution of ring material in and near the known rings; Analyse the chemical compositions of ring particles, study erosional and electromagnetic processes responsible for E ring structure, search for ring particles beyond it, and study effect of Titan on Saturn dust complex; Study chemical composition of icy satellites from ejecta particles. Many more objectives.	CDA is mounted near the plus-Y side of the spacecraft . An articulation mechanism allows the entire CDA instrument, including the high-rate detectors and the dust analyzer, to be rotated or repositioned with respect to the spacecraft coordinate system.

Instrument

Investigators

Description

Some Scientific Objectives

CDA

Cosmic Dust Analyzer

Principal Investigator: Ralf Srama

Max Plank Institut fźr Kernphysik,Heidelberg, Germany

Dust analyzer measures dust particles' electric charge, direction and speed of impact, and the particles' mass and chemical composition, using impact ionisation. A separate high rate detector, for measuring high impact rates during ring plane crossings, is capable of determining the mass of particles with a known speed, using two separate polyvinylidene fluoride sensors.

Extend studies of interplanetary dust sizes and orbits out to the distance of Saturn, define dust and meteoroid distribution near Saturn's rings, and map the size distribution of ring material in and near the known rings;

Analyse the chemical compositions of ring particles, study erosional and electromagnetic processes responsible for E ring structure, search for ring particles beyond it, and study effect of Titan on Saturn dust complex;

Study chemical composition of icy satellites from ejecta particles. Many more objectives.

CDA is mounted near the plus-Y side of the spacecraft . An articulation mechanism allows the entire CDA instrument, including the high-rate detectors and the dust analyzer, to be rotated or repositioned with respect to the spacecraft coordinate system.