In this Section we have laid out a new science program that has fundamental merit. Our common star, the Sun, and its planetary system are probably typical, from the standpoint of plasma physics, of single-star systems throughout the cosmos. Our ability to make such detailed observations of this system, and to test global scale simulations of the system over an extreme range of conditions provided by the cycle of activity on the sun, provide a unique opportunity to acquire a quantitative and predictive understanding of the workings of the system.
Especially important is the geospace response to the driving forces from the Sun, since an understanding of the response has practical applications, placing this research into a fundamental national need. It has become clear that the science of the ISTP program has captured the interest of the public through the unprecedented media coverage of the January and April 1997 CME events. |
Coordinating Spacecraft | Objectives | Mission Phase* | ||||||||||||||
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Sun/Heliosphere/Interplanetary Medium | ||||||||||||||||
Ulysses, IMP-8, SOHO, Interball, ACE |
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Magnetosphere | ||||||||||||||||
POLAR,GEOTAIL, IMP-8, FAST, SAMPEX, Interball, ACE, Equator-S |
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Other | ||||||||||||||||
GRO, MGS, SOHO, NEAR |
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* Mission phase keyed to WIND trajectory phase (see Figure of orbit phases)
† Objectives for which the unique instrumentation on WIND is essential, but which in some cases require coordination with other spacecraft.
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We have further shown that the GGS/SOLARMAX space and ground-based assets are essential to implement a creditable national effort to gain an understanding of the flow of mass, energy and momentum through the geospace system. Since NASA is tasked to provide the basic and pioneering research for the National Space Weather program, and will accomplish this task through the Sun-Earth Connections program, SOLARMAX is expected to play an essential role in achieving the goals of both the NASA and national programs.
In the short period that the GGS spacecraft and the ground facilities within the ISTP program have been fully operational they have produced important discoveries and many first-ever observations. We must remember that it takes time for nature to provide the opportunities for acquiring the proper data, both from the aspect of clear events and also from the need to have the spacecraft resources optimally configured in their orbits at these times. Nevertheless, the outstanding scientific productivity already demonstrated by ISTP fully validates the concepts developed and proposed here for GGS/SOLARMAX. Finally, our approach to the accomplishment of the science is well developed and progresses through the phases of the solar cycle. In concert, the science objectives phase over from those appropriate for solar minimum to the great and important events of solar maximum. We have analyzed the science problems to determine the specific measurements that are needed for their accomplishment, and have identified the technical resources and determined their utilization for the fulfillment of the program objectives. The GGS/SOLARMAX program for the next two biannual periods is planned to accomplish the understanding of global geospace systems throughout the solar cycle, a fundamentally important subject of Sun-Earth Connections. |