On Wednesday, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) successfully launched three new missions aimed at investigating the Sun’s influence throughout the solar system.
At 7:30 a.m. EDT, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and NOAA’s SWFO-L1 (Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1) spacecraft.
Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy emphasized the significance of this launch, stating, “This successful launch advances the space weather readiness of our nation to better protect our satellites, interplanetary missions, and space-faring astronauts from the dangers of space weather throughout the solar system.”
He added that the insights gained from these missions will be critical as the agency prepares for future missions to the Moon and Mars, reinforcing America’s leadership in space exploration.
The missions are designed to protect both terrestrial technology and the safety of human and robotic explorers venturing into space, particularly in light of the increasing activity of solar weather.
Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, remarked, “As the United States prepares to send humans back to the Moon and onward to Mars, NASA and NOAA are providing the ultimate interplanetary survival guide to support humanity’s epic journey along the way.”
The data and insights gleaned from these missions will directly contribute to ensuring a prepared, safe, and sustainable human presence on other celestial bodies.
Each of the three missions focuses on different aspects of space weather and solar wind, which consists of a continuous stream of particles emitted by the Sun. This research is crucial given the direct impact solar activity can have on daily life, including essential services like GPS and power grids.
Joe Westlake, director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division, stated, “These three unique missions will help us get to know our Sun and its effects on Earth better than ever before.”
He noted that understanding the Sun’s activity is essential for maintaining the safety and resilience of our interconnected world.
The IMAP mission aims to chart the heliosphere’s boundary, which is a protective bubble created by the solar wind that guards our solar system from galactic cosmic rays. This protection is key to the habitability of Earth.
Additionally, IMAP will measure and sample solar wind particles as they emanate from the Sun while also investigating the energetic particles that stream inward from the solar system’s edge.
David McComas, the IMAP mission’s principal investigator at Princeton University in New Jersey, expressed optimism, stating, “IMAP will help us better understand how the space environment can harm us and our technologies, and discover the science of our solar neighborhood.”
The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is a groundbreaking mission dedicated to observing changes in the Earth’s outermost atmospheric layer, known as the exosphere. The exosphere plays a vital role in Earth’s response to solar weather events.
By studying the geocorona—the ultraviolet glow emitted by the exosphere when exposed to sunlight—the Carruthers mission will shed light on how the exosphere reacts to solar storms and seasonal changes.
Lara Waldrop, the mission’s principal investigator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, explained, “The Carruthers mission will show us how the exosphere works and will help improve our ability to predict the impacts of solar activity here on Earth.”
In an innovative approach, NOAA’s SWFO-L1 has been conceived as a full-time operational space weather observatory. It will monitor solar activity and space conditions near Earth around the clock without interruption.
Richard Ullman, deputy director of NOAA’s Office of Space Weather Observations, highlighted the mission’s importance: “Real-time observations from SWFO-L1 will give operators the trusted data necessary to issue advance warnings so that decision-makers can take early action to protect vital infrastructure, economic interests, and national security on Earth and in space.”
The SWFO-L1 mission represents a significant advancement in space weather monitoring, working to eliminate gaps in observational continuity.
Following the launch, all three spacecraft successfully deployed from the rocket and transmitted signals back to Earth confirming their operational status.
In the coming months, these spacecraft will be making their way to Lagrange point 1 (L1), approximately one million miles from Earth, where they are expected to arrive by January.
Once their instruments are checked and calibrated, they will embark on their missions focused on enhancing our understanding of space weather and its implications for humanity.
The IMAP mission is spearheaded by David McComas and involves a collaboration of 27 partner institutions. The spacecraft was built by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, and they will also manage the mission’s operations.
Lara Waldrop leads the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory mission, with implementation guided by the Space Sciences Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, which designed and constructed the two ultraviolet imagers for the mission.
The Explorers and Heliophysics Projects Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, oversees the IMAP and Carruthers missions under NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
Managed by NOAA, the development of the SWFO-L1 mission was pursued in partnership with NASA Goddard and commercial collaborators.
NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, is responsible for the launch services for all missions involved.
For further information about these exciting missions and the research they involve, please visit https://www.nasa.gov/sun.
image source from：nasa
