University of Iowa Dept. of Physics and Astronomy <br>

U. of Iowa Major Accomplishments in Space Physics Research
(based on data collected by U. of Iowa-developed instruments)

Explorer 1	February 1, 1958	Designed and developed the science instrument on the first successful U.S. satellite, which lead to the discovery of Earth's radiation belts
Explorer 3	March 1958	Designed and developed the first tape recorder for spaceflight
Injun 1	June 29, 1961	First university to design, assemble, operate, and track a successful satellite
Mariner 2	August 1962	Instrumentation on the first flight to another planet (Venus)
Mariner 4	November 1964	Instrumentation on the first flight to Mars
Pioneer 10	March 1972	Instrumentation on the first flight to Jupiter
Pioneer 11	April 1973	Instrumentation on the first flight to Saturn
Pioneer 10	December 1973	Discovery of radiation belts at Jupiter
Voyager 2	August 1977	Instrumentation on the first flight to Uranus
Voyager 2	August 1977	Instrumentation on the first flight to Neptune
Pioneer 10/11	1979	Discovery and first survey of radiation belts of Saturn
Voyager 1	1979	Establish the presence of lightning at Jupiter
Plasma Diagnostics Package	July 1985	First satellite released and recovered during a space shuttle mission
ISEE 3	September 1985	Instrumentation on the first flyby of a comet (Comet Giacobini-Zinner)
Galileo	October 1989	Instrumentation on the first orbiter of Jupiter
Galileo	October 1991	In situ measurements of the asteroid Gaspra
Galileo	August 1993	In situ measurements of the asteroid Ida
Galileo	June 1996	Discovery of the first magnetosphere of a planetary moon (Ganymede)
Cassini	October 1997	Instrumentation on the first orbiter of Saturn
Galileo/Cassini	December 2000	Three scientific instruments on two spacecraft simultaneously collected data at Jupiter
Mars Express	2004	First subsurface and ionospheric radar measurements at Mars
Voyager 2	August 2007	First measurements of plasma waves at heliospheric termination shock
Cassini	December 2010	First measurements of lightning from a global storm on Saturn
Voyager 1	Oct./Nov. 2012	First man-made object to enter interstellar space and make measurements in interstellar medium
Mars Express	October 2014	First measurements during a close comet flyby of Mars (Comet Siding-Spring)
Juno	July 2016	Instrument on the first polar orbiter of Jupiter
HaloSat	May 2018	First astrophysics-focused and competitively selected CubeSat mission funded by NASA's Astrophysics Division

Snapshot summary of U. of Iowa space physics research milestones

Developed the science instrument on the first successful U.S. satellite, Explorer 1
Discovery of radiation belts at Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn
Between 1958 and 1998 developed more spaceflight instruments than any other university
First observations by spacecraft at 7 of the 8 planets in our solar system
First studies of radio emissions and plasma waves at Uranus and Neptune
First evidence of lightning at Jupiter
Discovery of a magnetosphere at Ganymede
First in situ observations with spacecraft of a comet and an asteroid
Observations by most-distant spacecraft from Earth
Developed the first object (a satellite) released and recovered by the space shuttle remote manipulator arm
Developed the first subsurface radar to explore Mars
First measurements at the heliospheric termination shock
First man-made object to enter interstellar space and make measurements of interstellar medium
First measurements during a close comet flyby of a planet
First astrophysics-focused and competitively selected CubeSat mission funded by NASA's Astrophysics Division
Design and fabrication of 7 complete, successfully launched spacecraft
Developed instrumentation on 70 successfully launched spacecraft (as of 2020)
In early 2021 the University of Iowa has operating science instruments on 14 spacecraft

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U. of Iowa Major Accomplishments in Space Physics Research(based on data collected by U. of Iowa-developed instruments)

U. of Iowa Major Accomplishments in Space Physics Research
(based on data collected by U. of Iowa-developed instruments)