For almost 50 years solar system plasma has been studied by in-situ as well as remote sensing instruments. These instruments include particle instruments such as different kinds of mass spectrometers, solid state detectors or neutral atom imagers as well as electromagnetic field measuring instruments such as magnetometers and electric field instruments. In this presentation I will give an overview of the different types of instruments used in space research to better understand the plasma environment of the solar wind and the planetary magnetospheres.