The KLEM high-energy cosmic ray collector for the NUCLEON satellite mission

The basic objective of the KLEM (Kinematic Lightweight Energy Meter) Project is to directly measure the elemental energy spectra of very high-energy (10(exp 11) - 10(exp 16) eV) cosmic rays by determining the angular distribution of secondaries produced in a target layer. A small-scale version of a KLEM device has been designed for inclusion in the NUCLEON Russian satellite mission. Despite its 3 relatively small size of 36 x 36 x 30 cubic cm, this instrument has an aperture of about 0.12 square m sr and can thus make an important contribution to data concerning the elemental energy spectra of cosmic rays up to 10(exp 15) eV. Details of the experiment and the astrophysical significance of the mission will be presented.