Plasma Experiment for Planetary Exploration (PEPE) on DS1

The Plasma Experiment for Planetary Exploration, PEPE, is a space plasma energy, angle, and mass/charge spectrometer now taking data aboard the Deep Space 1 (DS1) spacecraft. PEPE required several advanced technologies and specialized construction techniques to meet its targeted cost, schedule, mass, power, and volume reductions compared to previous plasma sensor packages such as the NASA Cassini mission Plasma Spectrometer. It was designed to validate technologies and techniques for these resource savings so that future plasma instrumentation can use fewer resources and continue to have frequent access to space. PEPE was also designed to monitor the effect that the ion engine on DS1 has on the spacecraft environment and determine the impact of ion engines on future scientific instrumentation and measurements. PEPE has produced both high quality data and science, fully demonstrating that its new technologies can produce a viable instrument compatible with an ion propelled spacecraft.