Parker Solar Probe SWEAP Instruments Trending Analysis

Parker Solar Probe launched in August 2018 and, through July 2022, has completed 12 orbits. The SWEAP suite of instruments measures the solar wind, including electrons, ions of hydrogen (protons), and helium. SWEAP has four sensors: the Solar Probe Cup (SPC) and 3 Solar Probe Analyzers (SPAN-A Ion, SPAN-A Electron, and SPAN-B Electron). This project involves creating a database for storing instrument housekeeping data, evaluating the data to verify the health and configuration of the SWEAP instruments, and performing trending analysis for the last eight orbits. By plotting the data in time relative to perihelion and distance relative to the Sun, configuration changes in operations of the instruments have been observed and correlated to commands by the operators. Some commands have been noted to cause unstable spikes in voltage or current and will not be performed by the operators in the future. Some aberrations have been noted and are being investigated further to better understand the instruments' health. In particular, the SPC current has risen rapidly for orbits 10, 11, and 12. The SPAN-B high voltages are greatly affected by the heater operations. To conclude, SWEAP instruments have been healthy (performing within instruments' limits and mostly performing as expected) throughout the mission, but some minor abnormalities are being inspected. The next steps of the project are to improve the database structure, better under some incidents and trends, and continue monitoring the instruments' health, ensuring the instruments' long-term success and reliable scientific data.