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SOLAR PROBE MISSION
Solar Probe (SP) is humanity’s first visit to our
star to explore the complex and time varying interplay of
the Sun and Earth which affects human activity. SP will determine
where and what physical processes heat the corona & accelerate
the solar wind to its super-sonic velocity. A combined remote
sensing and in-situ sampling from within the solar corona
itself will provide a “ground truth” never before
available from astronomical measurements made from spacecraft
in the Earth’s orbit or LaGrange points. Solar Probe
is currently under study as part of
NASA's Office of Space Science.
WHY
IS THE SOLAR PROBE STUDY NEEDED
The Sun is the source of energy for life and is the strongest
modulator of the human physical environment. In fact, the
Sun’s influence extends throughout the solar system,
both through photons which provide heat and light and through
the continuous outflow of a magnetized, supersonic ionized
gas known as the solar wind. One of the great discoveries
of the era of space exploration was the realization that
the strength of the Sun’s magnetic field at the earth
is similar to the magnitude of the Earth's own magnetic field.
The realm of the solar wind, which includes the entire solar
system, is called the heliosphere. Solar Probe is designed
to understand the basic mechanisms of the generation and
flow of the solar wind, the process that links the Sun’s
magnetic field to the Earth and beyond.
+ Link to Solar Probe website
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