NASA is preparing a new mission to read space weather disturbances that could impact important technology on Earth. The target is close to everyday life, ranging from GPS, low-orbit satellites, to astronaut safety.
Based on NASA's official release published on its official website, quoted on Monday, June 22, the mission is named DAPHNE, an abbreviation of Dynamic Atmosphere-Ionosphere Explorer. According to NASA, this mission will enter Phase B, namely the planning and design stage for flight and mission operations.
DAPHNE will use two twin satellites. Its task is to study how changes in the Earth's lower atmosphere affect the upper atmosphere. It is in this region that space weather appears and interacts with the near-Earth environment.
Space weather is not weather like rain or heat. This term refers to disturbances from the Sun's activity that can affect the space around Earth. The impact can be felt on navigation signals, satellites, and manned space missions.
NASA said this mission is important because humans are increasingly dependent on space-based technology. GPS used for digital maps, logistics, aviation, and precision agriculture can be disrupted if the upper atmospheric conditions change sharply.
Nicky Fox, Associate Administrator of the Science Mission Directorate of NASA, said DAPHNE would help improve the ability to predict the impact of space weather on life on Earth and human activities in space.
He also said data from DAPHNE is important when NASA sends astronauts past Earth's magnetic shield to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
DAPHNE will measure neutral winds, temperatures, and composition in the thermosphere from multiple points at once. Neutral winds are the movement of gas that has not been electrically charged in the upper atmosphere.
The thermosphere is in the upper layer of the atmosphere. Together with the ionosphere, this region becomes the transition boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and the plasma in space. Plasma is a gas whose particles are already electrically charged.
This thin layer continues to move. It is influenced by solar activity, changes in the lower atmosphere, and near-Earth space conditions.
The mission is led by Aimee Merkel of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder.
In the release, NASA said that DAPHNE observations would include energy data from the lower atmosphere to improve space weather prediction capabilities. With better data, the risk of interference with satellites and navigation technology can be mapped earlier.
DAPHNE still has to pass a confirmation review in 2027. NASA said this stage will assess the progress of the mission and the availability of funds.
If approved, the mission's cost is estimated at no more than $250 million, excluding launch costs, based on the dollar value of the 2023 fiscal year. The launch is scheduled for no earlier than 2029.
NASA said DAPHNE was proposed as a concept study for the DYNAMIC mission opportunity, or Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling.
Funding and mission oversight are under the Solar Terrestrial Probes program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.
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