The Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma Instrument Suite on the Radiation Belt Storm Probes Mission: Instrument Overview and Science Investigation Summary

We provide an overview of the instruments and a summary of the science goals of the Energetic particle, Composition, and Thermal plasma (ECT) Suite, a comprehensive, coordinated science investigation in development for NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission. RBSP-ECT comprises six instruments on each of the two RBSP spacecraft and provides collectively five of the six charged particle measurements required to achieve RBSP mission success. The ECT suite science goals centrally address the top-level RBSP science objective: - to provide understanding, ideally to the point of predictability, of how populations of relativistic electrons and penetrating ions in space form or change in response to variable inputs of energy from the Sun. Three ECT sensor types provide measurements of not only the core radiation belt electrons and ions, but also of the lower energy charged particles in the inner magnetosphere that control the processes that accelerate, transport, and lead to the loss of radiation belt particles. The Helium-Oxygen- Proton-Electron (HOPE) sensor measures the lowest energy populations. The Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) sensor (comprised of four instruments) measures medium energy to relativistic electron populations as well as medium energy bulk ions. The Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) measures ultra-relativistic electrons and high energetic protons. An ECT Science Operations Center (SOC) and Science Data Center (SDC) unify the ensemble HOPE, MagEIS, and REPT measurements into a single data set in order to deconvolve the complex, coupled drivers required to understand radiation belt dynamics. A diverse, collaborative, and integrated group of scientists from 11 institutions make up the ECT Suite science team, and provide the experimental, data processing and analysis, modeling, theory, and space weather application experience required to meet ECT and RBSP science objectives. We present a status report on ECT suite instrument and SOC/SDC development; we discuss how ECT measurements will enable science closure on RBSP mission objectives; and we describe data and analysis products that will be available to the broad scientific community to accomplish that science. The RBSP mission is currently slated for launch in late 2011.