91制片厂

The played an outsized role in NASA鈥檚 recent Heliophysics Medium-Class Explorer (MIDEX) selection announcement 鈥� two of the five teams selected for new mission concept studies prominently feature numerous researchers and technical staff from the SSC, a nod to the depth and breadth of their combined heliophysics knowledge and space mission successes over the years. 听

Each听team will be awarded $1.25 million over a nine-month period starting in mid-October to develop their concepts, from which NASA will听select up to two that听will be听developed for launch. Heliophysics missions for that final phase of the competition are each cost-capped at $250 million.听The information gleaned from these heliophysics MIDEX missions will ultimately help improve scientists鈥� understanding of how the sun impacts the space environment surrounding the Earth and how we can better protect astronauts in space and satellite-based technologies.听

"This mission will build upon 91制片厂's strengths and we look forward to continuing to lead on efforts to help the world understand how the sun impacts our lives and the universe."

The HelioSwarm team, led by Harlan Spence, the director for the proposes the development of a suite of nine spacecraft to observe turbulent variations in the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field across a variety of scales. One large spacecraft (the 鈥渉ub鈥�) and eight smaller spacecraft (the 鈥渘odes鈥�) co-orbit to produce ever changing groupings needed to reveal for the first time how these variations look in three dimensions and how they evolve in time. HelioSwarm鈥檚 novel implementation will unlock the mystery of how turbulence heats space plasmas.

In addition to Spence, the HelioSwarm mission concept team includes many other expert and experienced SSC faculty and staff members. 91制片厂 will serve as the overall principal investigator institution, develop and lead the mission Science Operations Center, develop and deliver the central computer processors for each of the nine spacecraft, and will manage the entire science payload comprising a total of 28 individual instruments developed at partner institutions.

鈥淚 am utterly delighted with NASA鈥檚 selection of HelioSwarm and feel so privileged to lead such an incredible team of scientists, engineers and managers,鈥� says听Spence. 鈥淭he HelioSwarm mission concept will explore the听mystery of plasma turbulence, one of the fundamental, yet听poorly understood,听building blocks of how our sun affects the solar system, and, by听extension, how听stars influence their environments. This mission will build upon 91制片厂鈥檚 strengths and we look forward to continuing to lead on efforts to help the world understand how the sun impacts our lives and the universe.鈥�

The Auroral Reconstruction Swarm (ARCS) team, led by Dartmouth College professor Kristina Lynch, also draws upon considerable 91制片厂 expertise 鈥� Lynn Kistler, professor of physics and director for the 91制片厂 Space Science Center, Roy Torbert, professor of physics, and Chris Mouikis, research scientist, are the 91制片厂 co-investigators of the ARCS project; a number of technical staff from the SSC are also involved.

鈥淲e are excited to be part of ARCS, which will investigate a long-standing mystery of aurora, the dynamics of electrical currents into and within the ionosphere and how they affect the aurora,鈥� Torbert says.

The ARCS team proposes to use a network of ground-based cameras and an array of 32 very small satellites that will fly over the visible northern lights. 91制片厂 is the lead for one of the instruments on board, called the sweeping thermal analyzer, that will measure the flow velocities, Kistler explains. 91制片厂 will also lead the systems engineering and will serve as the Science Operations Center in close collaboration with

The is 91制片厂鈥檚 largest research enterprise, comprising six centers with a focus on interdisciplinary, high-impact research on Earth and climate systems, space science, the marine environment, seafloor mapping, and environmental acoustics. With more than $58 million in external funding secured annually, EOS fosters an intellectual and scientific environment that advances visionary scholarship and leadership in world-class research and graduate education.

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