The Kiel University experiment for measuring cosmic radiation between 1.0 and 0.3 AE /E 6/

The University of Kiel experiment on board the solar probe Helios measures high energy charged cosmic ray particles of solar, planetary and galactic origin in interplanetary space. Within the earth orbit the interplanetary space will be investigated down to distances of 0.3 AU from the sun. Electrons with energies between 0.3 and 4 MeV, protons and heavier nuclei up to neon with energies of more than 1.3 MeV/nucleon can be separated. The cosmic ray telescope consisting of semiconductor detectors, one Cerenkov and one scintillation counter has been calibrated using radioactive sources, particle accelerators and ground level muons. The complex data handling system on board and on ground has been developed to make optimum use of the limited telemetry capacity of the space probe.