Summary
Benefits:
- Improve the scientific understanding of the effects of solar
variations on the Earth
- Identify and quantify solar inputs to global change
- Improve understanding of causes of space environmental changes
- Extend fundamental laboratory plasma science via observation of space
plasmas
- Provide remote and in-situ observations of astrophysically
important plasma processes
- Mitigate the hazards to humans and technology of the space environment
- Extend public understanding of space science
- Demonstrate advanced technologies
Hallmarks of Success:
- Solar Probe: Fly through the atmosphere of our Sun for the first
time.
- MI: Take the first picture and movie of Earth's magnetosphere and its
electrical storms.
- HESI: Capture the solar flare signals that revel the causes and
effects of the largest explosions in the solar system.
- TIMED: Examine the crossroads in Earth's atmosphere through which
invisible radiations from the Sun determine how our atmosphere
behaves.
Technical and Programmatic Progress:
- Small spacecraft; sharply focused objectives
- Streamlined procurements; rapid development
- Advanced, often miniaturized instruments
- Enhanced scientist involvement in program management and development
- Scheduled to take advantage of next solar cycle
Solar Connections: A Science Initiative for NASA Space Physics
Solar Connections home page
and table of contents