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      Cosmic rays (CR) have been intensively studied since their discovery in 1912. The separate branch of physics, called cosmic rays physics, had formed by 50-s years. The identification of  types of cosmic rays particles and the measurement of their  kinetic energy became the main experimental aims of new physics sphere. Nowadays it is well known, that cosmic rays consist of the flow of nuclei of various elements, mostly hydrogen and much smaller number of electrons. The energy distribution of particles up to approximately 1013 eV is also reliably investigated. However, the observed energy range is much wider ¾ up to above 1020 eV, but here the researchers faced with serious difficulties.
     The main difficulty in rising up on the scale of energy in direct study of the CR components is that it is extremely expensive to construct the energy spectrometer of primary particles out the atmosphere. Today the ionizing calorimeter method invented and introduced in SINP MSU in the 50-s  is the only way of constructing an universal spectrometer. This is reliable and well-studied technique, but it has a drawback in requiring large amounts of solid matter of the absorber. So it requires the installation weighing more than five tons for accurate energy measurements over the 1015 eV. This request becomes critical because of the currently available rigorous limitation on the mass at the orbital experiments.
      To continue study in SINP MSU, a new kinematic method for determining the CR particles energy was proposed. This method named KLEM (Kinematic Light weight Energy Meter) by developers allows to measure particles energy up to 1015 eV at an installation mass less than half a ton through the using of the newest detector and electronic basis.
   The long-term idea of creating the experiment based on this method found the support of Roscosmos in the early 2000-s and was realized by SINP and Russian enterprises and institutions forces under the name “NUCLEON experiment”.

NUCLEON experimental concept

     The development of scientific equipment with relatively low weight (less than 500 kg) and dimensions (less than 1.0 m3), which is able to solve the actual problems of experimental physics of cosmic rays in a wide energy range from 1011 eV  to 1015 eV. This approach does not require the own spacecraft. It’s possible to use the additional reserves  for its exposure, which regularly appear at a number of Russian spacecraft series with the long-term purpose. This concept has allowed to minimize expenses and to embody the space experiment.


Main characteristics of NUCLEON equipment

  • the particle energy measurement range is 1012−1015eV;
  • the geometric factor is ~ 0.2 m2∙sr (the geometric factor for electrons, positrons, gamma rays  is ~ 0.1 m2∙sr);
  • the charge resolution is at least 0.3 units of charge;
  • the energy resolution is from 70% for hadrons to 10% for electromagnetic components.

  Declared responses were experimentally confirmed during the accelerating experiments at the external beam (SPS CERN) of hadrons, nuclei and electrons in the energy range 50‒350 GeV for charge Z=1-30.

     Flight  and technological samples of NUCLEON scientific equipment  were  adapted for installation as an additional useful  load on the serial spacecraft "Resurs-P» №2. The samples were made and underwent a complete self-contained test cycle in mid-2014.
Fig.1 Flight sample of NUCLEON scientific equipment before the hatch closing of pressurized container.

     At the end of December 2014 the carrier rocket of Soyuz-2.1b was successfully launched from Baikonur, brought out the SC Resurs-P №2 with the NUCLEON scientific equipment  into orbit. In January-February 2015 NUCLEON equipment passed successfully flight tests and started to gather the science information.
 
 
Fig.2 The pressurized container with NUCLEON scientific equipment docked to the SC "Resurs-P» №2 (under the yellow bottom covered by thermal insulating mats), being installed   to the SC  under the nose cone of the launch vehicle.

Expected science results
     The NUCLEON experiment will increase the worldwide statistics collected over the previous 50 years of researches at least 2 times despite its modest used resources, such as mass, geometrical dimensions, energy, etc. And it’s about  the absolutely new material. For the first time the wide energy range of CR will be researched in four steps of unified method during the long-term orbital experiment.
 
Thanks
     The research team of NUCLEON experiment expresses its deep gratitude to the management and the employees of organizations and enterprises involved in the creation and testing the complex of NUCLEON scientific equipment:
1. JSC SRC «Progress», Samara;
2. The Federal State Unitary Enterprise «Scientific and Production Association of Automatics named after academician N.A.Semikhatov», Ekaterinburg;
3. FSUE KB "Arsenal" named after M.V.Frunze, St.-Petersburg;
4. JSC RPE "SAIT", MO, Zelenograd;
5. MEPHI, Moscow;
6. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, MO, Dubna;
7. Research Center for Earth Operative Monitoring, Moscow;
8. JSC "Research Institute of Materials Science and Technology”, MO, Zelenograd.
 
 
The work is performed in the context of FSA contract "Establishment of NUCLEON science equipment complex, providing a conducting the studies of cosmic rays and high energy in its chemical composition," GC 808-5613 / 12 dated 10.05.2012
 
 
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