ilws: history

ILWS: History

Madhulika Guhathakurta

NASAHeadquartersScience Mission Directorate

Heliophysics Division

ILWS WG, Beijing, China, August 27-September 3, 2011

Agency Update

NASA Living with a Star ProgramTargeted Research & TechnologySteering Committee

At the center of the solar system there is a magnetic variable star, the Sun, that drives the Earth and other Planets, and structures interplanetary space itself .

All of NASA’s activities, all human endeavor, are subjected to forces in this neighborhood.

Overarching Principles


Understanding the Sun and its effects on the Earth and the solar system.

1. This is a complex system with many different temporal and spatial scales

2. The study of heliophysics involves three forces, and their interactions: pressure, gravity, and magnetic fields.

3. The Sun is coupled to the planetary system and space by radiation, charged particles, and magnetic fields.

Heliophysics: (aka Science of Space Weather & Climate)

System of Systems Surveillance

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Heliophysics and Space Weather (SWx)

Heliophysics research provides Theory, Data, and Modeling development at services to the national efforts in operational SWx.

The five research missions most often utilized are ACE, SOHO, STEREO (ahead and behind spacecraft) and SDO

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Anticipated NASA flt Systems 2012

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Heliophysics and Sun-ClimateHeliophysics and Sun-Climate

solar energy output

solar wind

heliosphere& IMF

XraysEUV

radiation energetic particles

magnetosphere

stratosphere & ozone

climate

near UV VIS IR

radiation

mesosphere & lower thermosphere

thermosphere ionosphere

energetic particles

galactic cosmic rays

0.00

0000

7 W

m-2

1366

Wm

-2 15

.4 W

m-2

space weatherspace weather

UV radiation

0.00

3 W

m-2

0.0003 Wm-2

electron aurora III 0.06 Wm-2

comparable to man-made energy

solar dynamo

A very important part is the study of the connection between the regions and how one drives a response in another.

• RBSP - Pre-Environmental Review planned for Nov 18 2011• Solar Probe Plus - Completed MDR Readiness Review - MDR planned for Oct 4-6, 2011• Solar Orbiter Collaboration - ESA completed spacecraft Systems Requirements Review with project & SRB participation - CMC Review and KDP-B DPMC (To be rescheduled NET Oct 2011) - ESA Cosmic Vision SPC downselect Oct/Nov 2011Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) ProgramMagnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) - Instrument SIR (U/R) Early January 2012 - Mission SIR Late January 2012

Explorers ProgramAnnouncement of Opportunity (AO) evaluation progressing per plan; there were:

22 full EX Missions (15 Astro/7 Helio), 20 Missions of Opportunity (11 Astro/9 Helio), 8 USPI (all Helio)Target Selection Date: Late Sept 2011

Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS)

Heliophysics SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS And Upcoming Events

Living With a Star Program

SDO Accomplishments A year after SDO's first light, researchers submitted 191 abstracts to

the first SDO science meeting. This corresponds to a new result almost every two days--a remarkable output.

Some Highlights! Solar flares are more powerful than we thought. EVE data show

that flares produce as much as five times more energy than previously believed. The extra radiation comes out at relatively long wavelengths (longer than soft x-ray) that powerfully effect Earth's atmosphere. The Sun-Earth connection just got 5 times stronger!

Solar activity is fundamentally global. Solar physicists have long suspected this. The famous August 1st eruption plus many lesser examples have extinguished all doubt.

The Sun is more beautiful than anyone imagined. Many of the phenomena SDO routinely record have no textbook names. Stories on SDO continues to be covered by all sorts of news magazines, science or otherwise.

SPP Accomplishments

Science Investigations Selected on Sep. 2, 2010 FIELDS Experiment: PI – Stuart Bale, University of California Space

Sciences Laboratory in Berkeley, CA Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons (SWEAP) Investigation: PI –

Justin C. Kasper, Smithsonian Astronomical Observatory in Cambridge, MA

Wide-field Imager for Solar PRobe (WISPR): PI – Russell Howard, Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC

Integrated Science Investigation of the Sun (ISIS): PI – David McComas, Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, TX

(EPI-Hi – JPL and EPI-Low – APL)

Heliospheric Origins with Solar Probe Plus: PI – Marco Velli, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA

Mission Observatory Scientist

Major MilestonesMission Design Review – October, 2011Preliminary Design Review – January 2014*Critical Design Review – November 2015*Integration and Testing start – August 2016*Pre-Environmental Review – July 2017*Pre-Ship Review – May 2018*Launch Readiness Date – August 2018End of Mission – September 2025

* Preliminary and subject to change

NSWP UpdatesA new strategic plan is availablehttp://www.ofcm.gov/nswp-sp/2010/NSWP%20StratPlan%20for%20web.pdf

The Grand Challenges for Disaster Reduction is a ten-year strategy crafted by the National Science and Technology Council’s Subcommittee on Disaster Reduction (SDR).http://www.sdr.gov/185820_Space_FINAL.pdf

At the request of OSTP NSWP is initiating a new assessment in response to the 2010 NASA Authorization Act, Section 809. (The Act also requires the Director of the Office of Science andTechnology Policy (OSTP) to submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress that: "(A)details the current data sources, both space- and ground-based, that are necessary for spaceweather forecasting; and (B) details the space- and ground-based systems that will be required togather data necessary for space weather forecasting for the next 10 years)The plan calls for the formation of a Joint Action Group for Space Environmental Capabilities Analysis (JAG/SECA) to conduct the assessment.

Space Weather Week: in Boulder, April 25-28, 2011SWEF on June 21st

Theme: "Here comes the Sun! National Space Weather Priorities to prepare for SolarMaximum"

ISWIThe International Space Weather Initiative was established in February 2009 to continue the aspects of the International Heliophysical Year that need long-term support.

It is endorsed by the United Nations, and is supported by the U.S. State Department, which enables activities in nations that have had little involvement in space weather science.

ISWI prioritizes collaborations with scientists in areas of the world that have been underrepresented.

A key component is the instrument program, which forms partnerships between instrument builders and institutes to host the instruments. There are currently fourteen instrument arrays participating in the program (see http://iswi-secretariat.org for a list of current instrument arrays, and instrument sites).

The data and modeling program operates in a similar way, forming new partnerships between nations.

Heliophysics Text Books

http://www.vsp.ucar.edu/HeliophysicsScience/

The sub-disciplines within Heliophysics have a rich variety of available textbooks, but no textbooks currently exist that present the diverse materials from their common physical principles, and help teachers well-versed in one discipline to teach the directly related areas within other disciplines.

Three affordable textbooks will be produced for each year of the Summer School. The books will be aimed for senior level undergraduates, graduate students and beginning postdoctoral students in all of the sciences related to climate physics, space physics, and heliospheric and solar physics, plus relevant branches of astrophysics and plasma physics. The three textbooks will cover all of the topics in heliophysics.

NOTE: The Heliophysics textbooks will be published by Cambridge University Press. All appendices will be online. The physical textbooks will not have 'numerical modeling descriptions' nor 'problem sets'. Description, table of contents and provisional textbook covers:

Outreach Eddy Interdisiplinary Workshop, Aspen, Co, Oct, 2010 The Logistis of Extreme Space Weather: Preparing for the Inevitable,

Newport News, VA, Nov., 2010 ILWS Poster presentation at IAA Heads of Agency meeting, Nov,

2010 Sun-Climate workshop, January 2011,Goa, India UNCOPUOS presentation on extreme space weather and extreme

solar minimum, Feb, 2010 & ISWI Steering Committee Meeting Sun 360 Conference in Kiel, Germany July 25-29 Heliophysics Summer School July 27- Aug 3, Boulder CO - The Effects of Solar Variability on Earth's Climate: A Workshop,

September 8-10, 2011, Boulder, CO http://sites.nationalacademies.org/SSB/CurrentProjects/SSB_061983

Issues and Challenges NRC Heliophysics Decadal Survey Team has been provided with revised

resource boundaries assuming flat budget and impacts of NLS2 contract.

An augmentation of the Heliophysics Explorer program has a strategic impact for the national SWx program. NRC Decadal Survey expected to recommend as a high priority in 2013 report.

Eroding R&A Funding impacts national research community. Restructuring of the Research and Analysis portion of the Division is a prime issue for 2011/2012.

International partnership challenges:

NLS2 cost increases for launchers is a threat to international collaboration. US reduces scope of contribution.

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2012 SWx Contribution by NASA missions includes the beacon mode data from the newly launched RBSP,SDO, STEREO, ACE, and the SOHO data system .

The Mission Data are stored in the VxO, and the CCMC provides NRT Models from this data. The R&A and TRT (LWS) develop Theory for inclusion into new models.

From Here to 2022

2022 It is possible that some of the missions of 2012 will be operational, such as SDO and ACE - but harder to predict the effects due to age on STEREO, SOHO and RBSP.

The Future of NASA data systems, the NASA modeling efforts, and the Theory Program will be influenced by the upcoming (2013) NRC Decadal Survey.

ilws: history

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