NASA Advances Heliophysics Research with Two Promising Mission Selections

Per a press release from NASA Headquarters, the agency has selected two heliophysics mission concepts for continued development, aiming to deepen our understanding of space weather and its impacts on Earth and the solar system. One mission, CINEMA, will move into its design and planning phase, while the other, CMEx, will undergo an extended concept study. These selections represent a commitment to advancing scientific knowledge and improving our ability to predict and mitigate the effects of solar activity.

The CINEMA (Cross-scale Investigation of Earth’s Magnetotail and Aurora) mission has been chosen to proceed to Phase B development. This phase will involve detailed planning and design for the mission’s flight and operational procedures. CINEMA’s primary objective is to investigate how plasma energy flows into Earth’s magnetosphere, a dynamic process that can lead to unpredictable events such as fast plasma jets, widespread electrical currents, and the visually striking auroras. The mission seeks to unravel the complexities of this magnetic convection, which plays a crucial role in understanding the varying intensity of space weather events and their potential disruptions to ground-based and space-borne infrastructure.

To achieve its goals, CINEMA will deploy a constellation of nine small satellites in a polar low Earth orbit. Each satellite will be equipped with an energetic particle detector, an auroral imager, and a magnetometer. By correlating the energetic particles observed with simultaneous auroral images and local magnetic field measurements, CINEMA aims to establish a direct link between high-energy activity in Earth’s magnetosphere and the visible auroral displays seen in the ionosphere. This mission has been allocated approximately $28 million to enter Phase B, with a total mission cost not exceeding $182.8 million, excluding launch expenses. Phase B is slated to last 10 months, and if selected for further development, the mission could launch no earlier than 2030.

In parallel, the CMEx (Chromospheric Magnetism Explorer) mission has been selected for an extended Phase A study. This extended period allows the CMEx team to further refine their design and assess its feasibility for future consideration. The CMEx concept proposes a single spacecraft mission utilizing established UV spectropolarimetric instrumentation. This technology has been previously demonstrated on NASA’s CLASP sub-orbital sounding rocket flight. The objective of CMEx is to analyze the lower layers of the Sun’s chromosphere to gain insights into the origins of solar eruptions and to determine the magnetic drivers of the solar wind. The extended Phase A study is allocated $2 million and will last for 12 months.

Both mission concepts were developed in response to the 2022 Heliophysics Explorers Program Small-class Explorer (SMEX) Announcement of Opportunity, having completed an initial one-year early concept study. The advancement of these missions underscores the growing importance of space exploration and its direct relevance to daily life. If successfully developed, these missions are expected to significantly improve NASA’s capacity to predict solar events that could pose risks to essential satellites and to mitigate potential dangers to astronauts operating in space.

Article by Mel Anara, based upon information from NASA Headquarters

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