TT5: Space Weather
Application: Forecasting and nowcasting the geospace radiation environment: prevent damage of critical infrastructure in space and on ground.
Background: Solar flares and coronal mass ejection (CME)-driven interplanetary shocks accelerate ions and electrons up to energies that can damage critical space-based infrastructure. We have developed research models that describe the time-dependent energization of particles in the solar wind via the
formation and dynamics of large-scale collisionless shock waves.
Integration with Foundational Research: Research into novel particle acceleration mechanisms proposed in FR1.3(a,b) and FR2.3 will find application in RISCS. A nonlinear dynamical model of the nightside magnetosphere called WINDMI (Wind – Magnetosphere – Ionosphere) currently used at the NASA Community Coordinated Modeling Center to analyze and predict geomagnetic storms and substorms, will be further refined and constituted into a storm and substorm tracking tool for the aviation and satellite industry as part of the RISCS capability (FR1.3c).
Proposed Research: The current research model, iPATH will be transitioned to a novel Radiation, Interplanetary Shocks, and Coronal Sources (RISCS) toolset to provide a fore/nowcast of the geospace energetic particle environment resulting from the observed and predicted generation of disturbances at the Sun. Also, FTPP will develop a commercializable hardware-based Space Weather Module (SWM) that can be integrated directly into a typical spacecraft avionics package. The SWM will monitor the health and weather-impacted conditions on a satellite, run diagnostics, and report indicators to the main control and data handling system of a spacecraft so that appropriate measures can be taken autonomously to mitigate severe space weather events
Impacts: TT5 will develop a critical space weather component by incorporating energetic particle physics into a forecasting tool. The RISCS suite will allow for situational assessment and decision making related to space operations.