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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
One semester as a NASA Pathways intern was enough to inspire Portia Keyes to sign up for a Russian language class at college. After interning in the Johnson Space Center’s Office of Procurement, Keyes hoped to someday use her new language skills in support of the International Space Station Program.
Now, 12 years later, Keyes is the deputy manager of the procurement office for the International Space Station and Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Programs. That means she is responsible for implementing and overseeing acquisition solutions that enable the purchasing of goods and services in support of both programs.
Official NASA portrait of Portia Keyes.NASA It has also given her a chance to use some of what she learned from her Russian language course. One of Keyes’ favorite NASA projects involved negotiating a contract modification with Roscosmos to secure transportation of NASA astronauts to the International Space Station via Soyuz spacecraft following the space shuttle’s retirement. “This project stands out to me both for its impact on NASA’s missions and the way it transcended political and geographical boundaries,” Keyes said. Being a part of this effort reinforced the importance of collaboration on a global scale. “It demonstrated how shared goals and values can unite people across different nations, regardless of external circumstances,” she said. “The world is more connected than we often realize.”
Keyes values collaboration on a smaller scale, as well, noting that her procurement role involves working with a wide variety of subject matter experts who are passionate about their respective fields. She acknowledged that procurement staff are sometimes seen as obstructing or slowing a mission rather than enabling it, although she has overcome this challenge through effective communication with stakeholders – striving to understand their perspectives and present mutually beneficial solutions.
“My commitment is to advancing NASA’s missions through the responsible management of taxpayer dollars,” she said. “Collaborating closely with my technical counterparts, I have been able to secure mission-critical services and supplies, all while adhering to regulatory, schedule, and resource constraints.”
Keyes poses for a picture outside of NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Image courtesy of Portia Keyes Adaptability has also been important to Keyes’ success. “Whether it’s shifting priorities due to unforeseen challenges, navigating cultural differences within international teams, or adjusting to new acquisition regulations, being flexible and open to change has allowed me to not just survive in dynamic environments, but thrive,” she said.
At the same time, Keyes strives to maintain balance in the workplace. “What I have learned about myself is that I can do anything, but not everything,” she said. “Maturing in my career has meant accepting that I have limited time, energy, and resources, so it is important to discern what truly matters and focus my efforts there.”
Portia Keyes, fourth from left, received a JSC Director’s Commendation Award in June 2024 for significant contributions to Johnson’s Office of Procurement. From left are Johnson Associate Director for Vision and Strategy Douglas Terrier, Office of Procurement Director Brad Niese, Office of Procurement Functional Lead Candice Palacios-Hoang, Keyes, and Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche.NASA Keyes’ hard work has been recognized with several awards throughout her career. She is proudest of earning the Office of Procurement Bubbee’s Coach Award, which is given to the team member most likely to serve as a mentor to colleagues. “Much of my professional and personal growth has stemmed from formal and informal mentors who supported me in navigating challenges, developing new skills, and creating environments for me to thrive,” she said. “I have a great appreciation for those mentors, and I strive to impact those around me similarly.”
Keyes hopes to encourage the Artemis Generation to approach the future – and periods of uncertainty – with curiosity, resilience, and a responsibility to care for our planet and the universe. She looks forward to the continued expansion of access to space.
“I hope to be around for the days where I can afford a reasonably priced, roundtrip ticket to the Moon,” she said. “Perhaps by then they will sell functional spacesuits in the local sporting goods stores.”
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By NASA
2 min read
NASA Science: Being Responsive to Executive Orders
February 18, 2025
To the NASA Science Community –
As the nation’s leader in Earth and space science, NASA Science operates within the broader context of the federal government and its priorities. As part of the Executive Branch, we are always responsive to the direction set by the Administration, including executive orders and policy guidance that relate to our programs and activities.
We are working as quickly as possible to implement these Executive Orders and related policies. We understand that these priorities can have tangible effects on our community, from potential changes in solicitations and mission planning to impacts on grants and research programs. We recognize that uncertainty can be challenging but we are committed to keeping you as informed as possible as we comply with these changes.
Our goal remains steadfast: to support groundbreaking science that advances knowledge and benefits society. As we work through these transitions, we are engaging with stakeholders, assessing implications, and ensuring that we continue to deliver on NASA’s science mission.
We appreciate your patience and dedication, and we will share more details as they become available. Thank you for your continued partnership in advancing NASA Science for the benefit of the nation.
-Nicky Fox
Associate Administrator, NASA Science Mission Directorate
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Last Updated Feb 18, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
The 2024 Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station is now available. This new edition contains updated bibliometric analyses, a list of all the publications documented in fiscal year 2024, and synopses of the most recent and recognized scientific findings from investigations conducted on the space station. These investigations are sponsored by NASA and all international partners – CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and the State Space Corporation Roscosmos (Roscosmos) – for the advancement of science, technology, and education.
Dr. Dmitry Oleynikov remotely operates a surgical robot aboard the Space Station using controls at the Virtual Incision offices in Lincoln, Nebraska. Robotic Surgery Tech Demo tests techniques for performing a simulated surgical procedure in microgravity using a miniature surgical robot that can be remotely controlled from Earth. Credits: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Between Oct. 1, 2023, and Sept. 30, 2024, more than 350 publications were reported. With approximately 40% of the research produced in collaboration between more than two countries and almost 80% of the high-impact studies published in the past seven years, station has continued to generate compelling and influential science above national and global standards since 2010.
The results achieved from station research provide insights that advance the commercialization of space and benefit humankind.
Some of the findings presented in this edition include:
Improved machine learning algorithms to detect space debris (Italian Space Agency, Roscosmos, ESA) Visuospatial processing before and after spaceflight (CSA) Metabolic changes during fasting intervals in astronauts (ESA) Vapor bubble production for the improvement of thermal systems (NASA) Immobilization of particles for the development of optical materials (JAXA) Maintained function of cardiac 3D stem cells after weeks of exposure to space (NASA) The content in the Annual Highlights of Results from the International Space Station has been reviewed and approved by the International Space Station Program Science Forum, a team of scientists and administrators representing NASA and international partners that are dedicated to planning, improving, and communicating the research operated on the space station.
[See the list of Station Research Results publications here and find the current edition of the Annual Highlights of Results here.]
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