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April 2021 : The Sun in 4K - Viewed By NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory
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By NASA
6 Min Read NASA’s PUNCH Mission to Revolutionize Our View of Solar Wind
Earth is immersed in material streaming from the Sun. This stream, called the solar wind, is washing over our planet, causing breathtaking auroras, impacting satellites and astronauts in space, and even affecting ground-based infrastructure.
NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission will be the first to image the Sun’s corona, or outer atmosphere, and solar wind together to better understand the Sun, solar wind, and Earth as a single connected system.
Launching no earlier than Feb. 28, 2025, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, PUNCH will provide scientists with new information about how potentially disruptive solar events form and evolve. This could lead to more accurate predictions about the arrival of space weather events at Earth and impact on humanity’s robotic explorers in space.
“What we hope PUNCH will bring to humanity is the ability to really 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.
This video can be freely shared and downloaded at https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14773.
Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Seeing Solar Wind in 3D
The PUNCH mission’s four suitcase-sized satellites have overlapping fields of view that combine to cover a larger swath of sky than any previous mission focused on the corona and solar wind. The satellites will spread out in low Earth orbit to construct a global view of the solar corona and its transition to the solar wind. They will also track solar storms like coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Their Sun-synchronous orbit will enable them to see the Sun 24/7, with their view only occasionally blocked by Earth.
Typical camera images are two dimensional, compressing the 3D subject into a flat plane and losing information. But PUNCH takes advantage of a property of light called polarization to reconstruct its images in 3D. As the Sun’s light bounces off material in the corona and solar wind, it becomes polarized — meaning the light waves oscillate in a particular way that can be filtered, much like how polarized sunglasses filter out glare off of water or metal. Each PUNCH spacecraft is equipped with a polarimeter that uses three distinct polarizing filters to capture information about the direction that material is moving that would be lost in typical images.
“This new perspective will allow scientists to discern the exact trajectory and speed of coronal mass ejections as they move through the inner solar system,” said DeForest. “This improves on current instruments in two ways: with three-dimensional imaging that lets us locate and track CMEs which are coming directly toward us; and with a broad field of view, which lets us track those CMEs all the way from the Sun to Earth.”
All four spacecraft are synchronized to serve as a single “virtual instrument” that spans the whole PUNCH constellation.
Crews conduct additional solar array deployment testing for NASA’s PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) satellites at Astrotech Space Operations located on Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. USSF 30th Space Wing/Alex Valdez The PUNCH satellites include one Narrow Field Imager and three Wide Field Imagers. The Narrow Field Imager (NFI) is a coronagraph, which blocks out the bright light from the Sun to better see details in the Sun’s corona, recreating what viewers on Earth see during a total solar eclipse when the Moon blocks the face of the Sun — a narrower view that sees the solar wind closer to the Sun. The Wide Field Imagers (WFI) are heliospheric imagers that view the very faint, outermost portion of the solar corona and the solar wind itself — giving a wide view of the solar wind as it spreads out into the solar system.
“I’m most excited to see the ‘inbetweeny’ activity in the solar wind,” said Nicholeen Viall, PUNCH mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “This means not just the biggest structures, like CMEs, or the smallest interactions, but all the different types of solar wind structures that fill that in between area.”
When these solar wind structures from the Sun reach Earth’s magnetic field, they can drive dynamics that affect Earth’s radiation belts. To launch spacecraft through these belts, including ones that will carry astronauts to the Moon and beyond, scientists need to understand the solar wind structure and changes in this region.
Building Off Other Missions
“The PUNCH mission is built on the shoulders of giants,” said Madhulika Guhathakurta, PUNCH program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “For decades, heliophysics missions have provided us with glimpses of the Sun’s corona and the solar wind, each offering critical yet partial views of our dynamic star’s influence on the solar system.”
When scientists combine data from PUNCH and NASA’s Parker Solar Probe, which flies through the Sun’s corona, they will see both the big picture and the up-close details. Working together, Parker Solar Probe and PUNCH span a field of view from a little more than half a mile (1 kilometer) to over 160 million miles (about 260 million kilometers).
Additionally, the PUNCH team will combine their data with diverse observations from other missions, like NASA’s CODEX (Coronal Diagnostic Experiment) technology demonstration, which views the corona even closer to the surface of the Sun from its vantage point on the International Space Station. PUNCH’s data also complements observations from NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) — targeted for launch in March 2025 — which investigates the magnetic field perturbations associated with Earth’s high-altitude auroras that PUNCH will also spot in its wide-field view.
A conceptual animation showing the heliosphere, the vast bubble that is generated by the Sun’s magnetic field and envelops all the planets.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab As the solar wind that PUNCH will observe travels away from the Sun and Earth, it will then be studied by the IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) mission, which is targeting a launch in 2025.
“The PUNCH mission will bridge these perspectives, providing an unprecedented continuous view that connects the birthplace of the solar wind in the corona to its evolution across interplanetary space,” said Guhathakurta.
The PUNCH mission is scheduled to conduct science for at least two years, following a 90-day commissioning period after launch. The mission is launching as a rideshare with the agency’s next astrophysics observatory, SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer).
“PUNCH is the latest heliophysics addition to the NASA fleet that delivers groundbreaking science every second of every day,” said Joe Westlake, heliophysics division director at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Launching this mission as a rideshare bolsters its value to the nation by optimizing every pound of launch capacity to maximize the scientific return for the cost of a single launch.”
The PUNCH mission is led by Southwest Research Institute’s offices in San Antonio, Texas, and Boulder, Colorado. The mission is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA Goddard for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
By Abbey Interrante
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Header Image:
An artist’s concept showing the four PUNCH satellites orbiting Earth.
Credits: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab
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Last Updated Feb 21, 2025 Related Terms
Heliophysics Coronal Mass Ejections Goddard Space Flight Center Heliophysics Division Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) Science Mission Directorate Solar Wind Space Weather The Sun Explore More
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By NASA
NASA’s SPHEREx is situated on a work stand ahead of prelaunch operations at the Astrotech Processing Facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The SPHEREx space telescope will share its ride to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA’s PUNCH mission.
Credit: USSF 30th Space Wing/Christopher
NASA will provide live coverage of prelaunch and launch activities for SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization and Ices Explorer), the agency’s newest space telescope. This will lift off with another NASA mission, Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere, or PUNCH, which will study the Sun’s solar wind.
The launch window opens at 10:09 p.m. EST (7:09 p.m. PST) Thursday, Feb. 27, for the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that will lift off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Watch coverage on NASA+. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
The SPHEREx mission will improve our understanding of how the universe evolved and search for key ingredients for life in our galaxy.
The four small spacecraft that comprise PUNCH will observe the Sun’s corona as it transitions into solar wind.
The deadline for media accreditation for in-person coverage of this launch has passed. NASA’s media credentialing policy is available online. For questions about media accreditation, please email: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Tuesday, Feb. 25
2 p.m. – SPHEREx and PUNCH Science Overview News Conference
Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters Joe Westlake, director, Heliophysics Division, NASA Headquarters Nicholeen Viall, PUNCH Mission Scientist, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Rachel Akeson, SPHEREx science data center lead, Caltech/IPAC Phil Korngut, SPHEREx instrument scientist, Caltech The news conference will stream on NASA+. Media may ask questions in person or via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Wednesday, Feb. 26
3:30 p.m. – SPHEREx and PUNCH Prelaunch News Conference
Mark Clampin, acting deputy associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters David Cheney, PUNCH program executive, NASA Headquarters James Fanson, SPHEREx project manager, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Denton Gibson, launch director, NASA’s Launch Services Program Julianna Scheiman, director, NASA Science Missions, SpaceX U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Ina Park, 30th Operations Support Squadron launch weather officer Coverage of the prelaunch news conference will stream live on NASA+.
Media may ask questions in person and via phone. Limited auditorium space will be available for in-person participation. For the dial-in number and passcode, media should contact the Kennedy newsroom no later than one hour before the start of the event at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov.
Thursday, Feb. 27
12 p.m. – SPHEREx and PUNCH Launch Preview will stream live on NASA+.
9:15 p.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+.
10:09 p.m. – Launch window opens.
Audio Only Coverage
Audio only of the launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, or -1240. On launch day, “mission audio,” countdown activities without NASA+ media launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135.
NASA Website Launch Coverage
Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the agency’s website. Coverage will include links to live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 9:15 p.m., Feb. 27, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff.
For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on the SPHEREx blog.
Attend the Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.
Watch, Engage on Social Media
You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASAJPL, @NASAUnivese, @NASASun, @NASAKennedy, @NASA_LSP
Facebook: NASA, NASAJPL, NASA Universe, NASASunScience, NASA’s Launch Services Program
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASAJPL, @NASAUnivese
For more information about these missions, visit:
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spherex/
https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/
-end-
Alise Fisher – SPHEREx
Headquarters, Washington
202-617-4977
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov
Sarah Frazier – PUNCH
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
202-853-7191
sarah.frazier@nasa.gov
Laura Aguiar
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-593-6245
laura.aquiar@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Feb 18, 2025 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe and Ices Explorer) Missions Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) Science Mission Directorate View the full article
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By European Space Agency
The European Space Agency (ESA) is ready to guide the ESA/NASA Solar Orbiter spacecraft through its closest encounter with Venus so far.
Today’s flyby will be the first to significantly ‘tilt’ the spacecraft’s orbit and allow it to see the Sun’s polar regions, which cannot be seen from Earth.
Studying the Sun’s poles will improve our understanding of solar activity, space weather, and the Sun-Earth connection.
View the full article
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By NASA
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully integrated the mission’s deployable aperture cover — a visor-like sunshade that will help prevent unwanted light from entering the telescope — to the outer barrel assembly, another structure designed to shield the telescope from stray light in addition to keeping it at a stable temperature.
Technicians at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., recently integrated the deployable aperture cover to the outer barrel assembly for the agency’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.NASA/Chris Gunn “It’s been incredible to see these major components go from computer models to building and now integrating them,” said Sheri Thorn, an aerospace engineer working on Roman’s sunshade at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “Since it’s all coming together at Goddard, we get a front row seat to the process. We’ve seen it mature, kind of like watching a child grow up, and it’s a really gratifying experience.”
The sunshade functions like a heavy-duty version of blackout curtains you might use to keep your room extra dark. It will make Roman more sensitive to faint light from across the universe, helping astronomers see dimmer and farther objects. Made of two layers of reinforced thermal blankets, the sunshade is designed to remain folded during launch and deploy after Roman is in space. Three booms will spring upward when triggered electronically, raising the sunshade like a page in a pop-up book.
In this photo, technician Brenda Estavia is installing the innermost layer of the sunshade onto the deployable aperture cover structure of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. NASA/Jolearra Tshiteya The sunshade blanket has an inner and outer layer separated by about an inch, much like a double-paned window. “We’re prepared for micrometeoroid impacts that could occur in space, so the blanket is heavily fortified,” said Brian Simpson, Roman’s deployable aperture cover lead at NASA Goddard. “One layer is even reinforced with Kevlar, the same thing that lines bulletproof vests. By placing some space in between the layers we reduce the risk that light would leak in, because it’s unlikely that the light would pass through both layers at the exact same points where the holes were.”
Over the course of a few hours, technicians meticulously joined the sunshade to the outer barrel assembly — both Goddard-designed components — in the largest clean room at NASA Goddard. The outer barrel assembly will help keep the telescope at a stable temperature and, like the sunshade, help shield the telescope from stray light and micrometeoroid impacts. It’s fitted with heaters to help ensure the telescope’s mirrors won’t experience wide temperature swings, which make materials expand and contract.
“Roman is made up of a lot of separate components that come together after years of design and fabrication,” said Laurence Madison, a mechanical engineer at NASA Goddard. “The deployable aperture cover and outer barrel assembly were built at the same time, and up until the integration the two teams mainly used reference drawings to make sure everything would fit together as they should. So the successful integration was both a proud moment and a relief!”
This photo shows the deployable aperture cover for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope as seen through the outer barrel assembly. Both components will help shield the telescope from stray light, improving Roman’s sensitivity to faint light from across the universe.NASA/Chris Gunn Both the sunshade and outer barrel assembly have been extensively tested individually, but now that they’re connected engineers are assessing them again. Following the integration, the team tested the sunshade deployment.
“Since the sunshade was designed to deploy in space, the system isn’t actually strong enough to deploy itself in Earth’s gravity,” said Matthew Neuman, a mechanical engineer working on Roman’s sunshade at NASA Goddard. “So we used a gravity negation system to offset its weight and verified that everything works as expected.”
Next, the components will undergo thermal vacuum testing together to ensure they will function as planned in the temperature and pressure environment of space. Then they’ll move to a shake test to assess their performance during the extreme vibrations they’ll experience during launch.
Technicians will join Roman’s solar panels to the outer barrel assembly and sunshade this spring, and then integrate them with the rest of the observatory by the end of the year.
The mission has now passed a milestone called Key Decision Point-D, marking the official transition from the fabrication stage that culminated in the delivery of major components to the phase involving assembly, integration, testing, and launch. The Roman observatory remains on track for completion by fall 2026 and launch no later than May 2027.
To virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope, visit:
https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive/
By Ashley Balzer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-1940
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Last Updated Feb 12, 2025 EditorAshley BalzerContactAshley Balzerashley.m.balzer@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Goddard Space Flight Center The Universe Explore More
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