AXIOM-Jian

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AXIOM-Jian
Advanced X-ray Imaging Of the Magnetosphere

A mission proposal in response to the ESA-CAS Announcement of Opportunity

The Science

AXIOM-Jian will investigate the dynamic response of the Earth's magnetosphere to the impact of the solar wind in a unique manner, never attempted before: it will combine soft X-ray imaging of the Earth's magnetopause and magnetospheric cusps with simultaneous UV imaging of the Northern aurora. For the first time we will be able to trace and link the processes of solar wind injection in the magnetosphere with those acting on the charged particles precipitating into the cusps and eventually the aurora.

In order to interpret the X-ray and UV data in a self-consistent way, and directly associate the response of the Earth's magnetosphere to different conditions of the solar wind, AXIOM-Jian will carry instruments for monitoring the solar wind conditions in-situ.

With its unparallelled payload AXIOM-Jian will provide answers to many of the open questions in solar-terrestrial relationships in a thoroughly novel way.