Cluster is an ongoing ESA mission launched in 2000 and expected to deliver science data at least until the end of 2017. Consisting from four identical spacecraft flying in close tetrahedral formation through key regions of the Terrestrial magnetosphere, it allows for the first time a truly three-dimensional view of the fundamental physical processes taking place in the plasma environment surrounding the Earth.

One of the eleven instruments onboard each spacecraft is the Flux Gate Magnetometer (FGM) which provides high resolution measurements of the three components of the magnetic field. To be used, the raw FGM data must first be calibrated. Because calibrated magnetic field data are necessary for data processing and calibration of other instruments onboard, quick delivery of FGM calibration parameters is of utmost importance. The daily calibration provides sets of calibration parameters valid for one entire day for each day of the mission.

Due to changes in the orbit, in the last years the complexity of this task has increased substantially and a more automatic calibration strategy is desirable. Using the current calibration software, TUNED provides an user-friendly, well documented software environment to automate most of the time-consuming parts of the calibration process. The project also contributes to the production of daily calibration files.

The calibration activity benefits from the collaboration with the FGM calibration team at the Technical University of Braunschweig and it is based on existing and tested software and techniques developed before the Cluster launch and during its mission.

Giving that Cluster provides a three-dimensional view of the magnetic field, its measurements are especially well fitted for the study of nonstationary events taking place at the Earth bowshock. One area which still requires more attention is the electron acceleration and heating in the shock layer. TUNED proposes the study of the electron dynamics in the bowshock taking advantage of the high accuracy Cluster measurements. Theoretical treatment and state of the art numerical simulations will complement the analyses of the experimental data. The electron distribution functions and the deHoffmann-Teller cross shock potential will be evaluated and compared with the Liouville Vlasov theory expectations.