Technological improvements, including an advanced thermal protection system and innovative solar arrays, have helped to get this mission off the drawing board.
Space weather
Posted inResearch Spotlights
NASA Fleet Helps Predict Space Weather
Using 8 years of data collected via spacecraft, scientists produce hindcasts of plasma eruptions from the Sun. These will help improve forecasts.
Posted inNews
Largest Flare of Past 9 Years Erupts from Sun
A massive flare and blast of charged particles toward Earth may disrupt satellites and communications and push auroras toward lower latitudes through tomorrow, according to space weather experts.
Posted inNews
Mining Ancient Texts Reveals Clues to Space Weather of Yore
Low-latitude sightings of colorful hues in the sky likely to have been auroras indicate powerful geomagnetic storms buffeted Earth when some old chronicles were written, researchers report.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Ground Surveys Reveal Space Weather Risk to Spain’s Power Grid
A survey of bedrock conductivity across Spain improves predictions of how vulnerable the nation’s power grid is to solar storms.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Explaining Unexpected Twists in the Sun's Magnetic Field
New research shows how the Sun's magnetic field can shift when it approaches Earth, which can throw off space weather forecasts.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
When Lower-Atmosphere Waves Invade the Upper Atmosphere
A review of the literature shows that weather nearer Earth's surface could produce up to 35% of the ionosphere's variability.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Global Positioning System Sparks New Data Revolution
Energetic particle data from the Global Positioning System constellation opens avenues for new research.
Posted inScience Updates
Deciphering the Cosmogenic Code to Learn Earth's Surface History
Third Nordic Workshop on Cosmogenic Nuclide Techniques; Stockholm, Sweden, 8–10 June 2016
Posted inScience Updates
Space Weather from a Southern Point of View
A recently completed instrument array in Antarctica provides a more complete understanding of the near-Earth space environment.