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This is the first-ever solar mission specifically designed to utilize light polarization to capture 3D measurements of the Sun’s corona and solar wind.
NASA is set to embark on a pioneering solar mission that will provide an unprecedented view of the Sun’s atmosphere, mapping the formation, origins, and evolution of solar winds and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs). These powerful solar events play a crucial role in shaping space weather, impacting satellites, communications, and power grids on Earth.
The Polarimetry to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission, scheduled for launch by SpaceX on February 28, will deploy a constellation of four compact satellites, each weighing approximately 64 kg, into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The mission is expected to last two years.
PUNCH marks a historic milestone as the first solar mission specifically designed to use light polarization for measuring the Sun’s corona and solar wind in 3D. This innovative approach will allow scientists to observe solar activity with unparalleled detail, offering deeper insights into how solar events influence space weather and our technological systems.
Accurate space weather information and forecasts are crucial, as any disturbances can directly impact Earth’s satellite communications, disrupt GPS navigation, and even cripple power grids, leading to significant operational challenges.
NASA has announced that data from the PUNCH mission could provide scientists with crucial insights, leading to more accurate predictions about space weather events and their potential impact on Earth, as well as on robotic explorers operating in space.
Equipped with a wide field of view, PUNCH will use its four onboard cameras to continuously capture images of the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere. These high-resolution images will enable physicists to create a 3D model, offering solar astronomers a detailed perspective on the structure of the solar wind. This will enhance understanding of how the Sun’s atmosphere transitions into solar wind and the forces shaping the corona.
According to NASA, PUNCH will carry three Wide Field Imagers (WFI) and one Narrow Field Imager. Every four minutes, each of these cameras will capture three raw images using different polarizing filters. Additionally, an unpolarized image will be taken once every eight minutes, further contributing to the study of solar dynamics.
When electrons, scattered sunlight, and light waves align, they create polarised light—something that PUNCH will measure using polarising filters. This will allow scientists to observe the inner solar system in unprecedented detail.
“We will be able to track the formation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar winds, study their evolution and acceleration, and identify the forces or energies driving their speed. Ultimately, this will help us understand how they propagate through interplanetary space. Such insights are crucial for accurately predicting space weather,” said Dibyendu Nandi, a solar physicist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata.
NASA’s PUNCH Mission Set to Transform Our Understanding of Solar Wind
Earth is constantly enveloped by a steady flow of charged particles from the Sun, known as the solar wind. This powerful stream sweeps across our planet, creating stunning auroras, influencing satellites and astronauts in space, and even impacting ground-based infrastructure.
NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission will be the first to capture images of both the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona, and the solar wind simultaneously. This groundbreaking initiative aims to enhance our understanding of the Sun, the solar wind, and their interconnected relationship with Earth as a unified system.
Scheduled for launch no earlier than February 28, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, the PUNCH mission aims to provide groundbreaking insights into the formation and evolution of solar events. By enhancing our understanding of these potentially disruptive phenomena, PUNCH could lead to more precise predictions of space weather impacts on Earth and robotic explorers across the solar system.
“What we hope PUNCH will bring to humanity is the ability to truly see, for the first time, where we live inside the solar wind itself,” said Craig DeForest, principal investigator for PUNCH at Southwest Research Institute’s Solar System Science and Exploration Division in Boulder, Colorado.
Seeing Solar Wind in 3D: The PUNCH Mission
The PUNCH mission consists of four compact, suitcase-sized satellites designed to provide an unprecedented 3D view of the solar wind and corona. These satellites have overlapping fields of view, allowing them to capture a broader expanse of the sky than any previous mission dedicated to studying these solar phenomena.
Typical camera images are two-dimensional, flattening a three-dimensional subject onto a single plane and losing valuable depth information. However, the PUNCH mission utilizes a unique property of light called polarization to reconstruct images in 3D, offering a groundbreaking perspective on the Sun’s outer atmosphere and solar wind.
When sunlight interacts with material in the corona and solar wind, it becomes polarized—meaning its waves oscillate in specific directions. This phenomenon allows PUNCH to capture details that conventional imaging would miss, much like how polarized sunglasses filter out glare from reflective surfaces. Each PUNCH spacecraft is equipped with a polarimeter featuring three specialized polarizing filters that help determine the movement and direction of coronal material.
“This new perspective enables scientists to pinpoint the exact trajectory and velocity of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as they travel through the inner solar system,” explained DeForest. “PUNCH improves upon current imaging techniques in two critical ways: first, by offering three-dimensional tracking to identify CMEs moving directly toward Earth; and second, by providing a broad field of view that allows continuous tracking from the Sun to our planet.”
The four synchronized PUNCH spacecraft operate as a single “virtual instrument,” collectively covering the entire PUNCH constellation for a comprehensive observational range.
Meanwhile, the Wide Field Imagers act as heliospheric cameras, observing the faint outermost reaches of the corona and the expanding solar wind. By offering a broader perspective, these imagers allow scientists to study the solar wind as it disperses throughout the solar system, providing crucial insights into space weather and its effects on Earth.
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