Effect of Jovian Magnetic Field on Charging of Solar-Array-Panel for Spacecraft: A Simulation Study

The interaction of Jovian planetary magnetic field, the strongest in the Solar System, and charging of solar-panels on spacecraft round Jupiter was mathematically modeled and numerically simulated with SPIS software.The influence of Jovian polar orbit on the charging behavior, including the secondary electron emission, charging potential and motional electromotive force, was investigated.The simulated results show that the negative impact of magnetic field in low orbits far outweighs that in high orbits.For example, in low orbits, the stronger magnetic field significantly worsens the charging properties because of the decreases of electron gyro-radius and secondary electron emission; in high orbits, the less strong magnetic field mildly affects the charging characteristics because electron gyro-radius is bigger and because the potential barrier enhances secondary electron emission.Moreover, the motional electromotive force (stronger than the calculated one) hurts the charging behavior and increases discharge-damage risk.