Nasa's sun-earth connection program strategic planning, missions & technology needs (2003-2028)

Abstract

varying solar wind, electromagnetic fields, and particles that iutcract with the planets and the galaxy. The Earth's magnetic field and upper atmosphere provide the shielding from the Sun's external influences, and they also form a coupled system with the Sun and the heliosphere. The Sun-Earth Connection (SEC) [ I ] theme in the NASA Office of Space Science (OSS) has a goal to understand the Sun, heliosphere, and planetary environments as a single connected system.The SEC Roadmap [2] strategy is to develop a synergistic set of missions that will allow us to discover and understand the connected Sun-Earth system in the spatial, temporal, and spectral domain from optimal vantage points in space. These missions will provide the remote and multipoint in situ measurements from unique vantages to support the primary SEC scientific goals and objectives. These missions will image the Sun's atmosphere in t h e dimensions by including high latitude and polar regions;

In-orbit repositioning of multiple solar sail spacecraft

“…For example, the Sun-Earth connection program by NASA puts great emphasis on the study of solar system plasmas to clarify the physical processes that link the Sun with Earth and to understand the consequences produced by the energy transfer from the Sun to the Earth's magnetosphere, ionosphere and atmosphere [2,3].…”