NASA will deepen studies on the Sun-Earth connection

NASA announced the launch of two scientific missions that will aim to study the dynamics of the Sun and the connection of the Earth with its stars and the constantly changing space environment. The Multi-slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm missions will provide a “deeper view” of the cosmos and critical information to help safeguard astronauts, satellites, and communication signals like GPS.

NASA’s Thomas Zurbuchen noted that the “MUSE and HelioSwarm mission will provide a new and deeper perspective on the solar atmosphere and space weather,” offering a “unique perspective” on the “mysteries” of the Sun.

Delving into the cosmos

According to information from the US space agency, the MUSE mission will make it easier for scientists to understand the forces that stimulate the “heating of the solar corona and the eruptions in that outer region that are the basis of space weather.” Through this mission it will be possible to observe the extreme ultraviolet radiation of the Sun and capture images with better resolution of the solar transition region and the corona.

The HelioSwarm mission will allow the first multiscale measurements in space of fluctuations in the magnetic field and movements of the solar wind known as solar wind turbulence.  In order to study the turbulence of the solar wind, it is necessary to take measurements of large areas simultaneously and from different points in space, which is why the HelioSwarm mission is designed as a central spacecraft and eight small satellites in joint orbit.

According to Peg Luce, deputy director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division, “the technical innovation of HelioSwarm’s small satellites operating together as a constellation provides the unique ability to investigate turbulence and its evolution in the solar wind.”

M. Rodríguez

Source: primicias.ec