PAMELA: A payload for antimatter matter exploration and light nuclei astrophysics

PAMELA is a satellite-borne experiment designed to study the charged component of the cosmic radiation, with particular emphasis on antiparticles. PAMELA is mounted on the Resurs DK1 satellite that was launched on June 15th 2006 from the Baikonur cosmodrome and has a foreseen lifetime of at least 3 years. The PAMELA apparatus consists of a magnetic spectrometer, an electromagnetic calorimeter, a time-of-flight system, an anticoincidence system, a shower tail catcher scintillator and a neutron detector. The signal from all detectors allows a reliable identification of antiparticles in a large background of other charged particles. The first studies of the in-flight performance are presented in this article.