City
Epaper

NASA selects 2 missions to study solar weather

By IANS | Published: June 21, 2019 4:54 PM

NASA has selected two new missions to study the Sun and its dynamic effects on space weather.

Open in App

The launch date for the two missions is no later than August 2022, the US space agency said in a statement on Friday.

One of the selected missions will study how the Sun drives particles and energy into the solar system and a second will study the Earth's response.

"These missions will do big science, but they're also special because they come in small packages, which means that we can launch them together and get more research for the price of a single launch," said Thomas Zurbuchen, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters in Washington.

The Sun generates a vast outpouring of solar particles known as the solar wind, which can create a dynamic system of radiation in space called space weather.

Near Earth, where such particles interact with our planet's magnetic field, the space weather system can lead to profound impact on human interests, such as astronauts' safety, radio communications, GPS signals and utility grids on the ground.

The more we understand what drives space weather and its interaction with the Earth and lunar systems, the more we can mitigate its effects - including safeguarding astronauts and technology crucial to NASA's Artemis programme to the Moon.

One of the two missions that NASA has selected is the Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or PUNCH. This mission will focus directly on the Sun's outer atmosphere, the corona, and how it generates the solar wind.

The second mission is Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, or TRACERS. The TRACERS investigation was partially selected as a NASA-launched rideshare mission, meaning it will be launched as a secondary payload with PUNCH.

TRACERS will observe particles and fields at the Earth's northern magnetic cusp region - the region encircling the Earth's pole, where our planet's magnetic field lines curve down towards the Earth, NASA said.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: EarthNasaThomas ZurbuchenThe Science Mission DirectorateGPS
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalIndian-Origin Astronaut Sunita Williams to Fly to Space Again on First Crewed Mission of Boeing’s Starliner

NationalLuna Crater in Gujarat Confirmed as Meteorite Impact Site by NASA Studies

MumbaiMumbai's Green Triumph: Wins 'World Green Tree City' Award for Third Consecutive Year

TechnologyWatch How Solar Eclipse Looks From Space as NASA Shares Breathtaking Photos and Videos

MaharashtraPons-Brooks Comet Returns after 71 Years: Here's How You Can Catch a Glimpse

International Realted Stories

InternationalLahore airport fire: International, Hajj flights delayed

InternationalNine killed in road accident in China

InternationalImran Khan refuses to apologise over May 9 protests

InternationalUS: Indian student missing in Chicago since May 2

InternationalIndia sets record with over USD 111 bn in remittances in 2022: UN report