A new approach to the measurement of hgih energy cosmic ray nuclei (E>10~(11) eV) is proposed. The method is based on measuring the primary particle energy by determining the angular distribution of secondaries produced in a target layer. The proposed technique can be used over a wide range of energies (10~(11) - 10~(16) eV) and gives an energy resolution of 60percent or better. This approach is being utilized to design a new advanced instrument (KLEM) for future space station and satellite cosmic ray experiments. Due to its light weight and large aperture the newly developed instrument will allow a dramatically increased exposure factor and will enable the directly measured energy range in cosmic ray research to be extended up to and beyond 10~(16) eV. A reduced scale version of this new instrument (project TUS-M) has already been accepted for exposure in the Russian Segment of the International Space Station. The essence of the TUS-M project is to test and confirm the new technique under flight conditions. During a one-year test exposure TUS-M will be able to measure the energy spectra of primary particles up to 10~(14) eV. The full scale instrument, with a three-year exposure has the capacity to address the "knee" problem with a data base including at least 25 particles with E>10~(16) eV.
展开▼
