Enter Note Done
Go to previous page in this tab
Session
  • Presentation | SH14B: Understanding Space Weather for Human and Robotic Exploration to the Moon, Mars, and Beyond II Oral
  • Oral
  • Bookmark Icon
  • SH14B-05: Toward Safer Mars Missions: Space Weather Lessons from a Multipoint Observation Campaign
  • Schedule
    Notes
  • Location Icon288-290
    NOLA CC
    Set Timezone
  •  
    View Map

Generic 'disconnected' Message
Author(s):
Adrienn Luspay-Kuti, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (First Author)
Drew Turner, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (Presenting Author)
Alexander Crew, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Ralph McNutt, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Joe Westlake, JHUAPL
Evangelos Paouris, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Angelos Vourlidas, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Savvas Raptis, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Corey Cochrane, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Xianzhe Jia, University of Michigan
Carol Raymond, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Steven Joy, University of California Los Angeles
Daniel Heyner, TU Braunschweig
Kathleen Hanley, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics
Ali Rahmati, University of California Berkeley, Space Sciences Laboratory
Jacob Gruesbeck, NASA GSFC
Jasper Halekas, University of Iowa
Shannon Curry, University of Colorado Boulder
Michael Stevens, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
H. Smith, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Margaret Kivelson, University of California, Los Angeles
James Slavin, University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Dany Waller, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Krishan Khurana, University of California at Los Angeles
Timothy Horbury, Imperial College London
Jared Espley, Goddard Space Flight Center
Dave Mitchell, Space Science Laboratory, UCB
Tom Nordheim, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Haje Korth, Johns Hopkins Univ
Carol Paty, University of Oregon
Abigail Rymer, Applied Physics Laboratory Johns Hopkins
Joachim Saur, University of Cologne
Kathleen Mandt, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory
Elias Roussos, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Norbert Krupp, Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research


Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are massive eruptions of solar plasma and magnetic field. CMEs pose a significant risk to astronauts, especially those on future long-duration missions to Mars. During a brief instrument checkout while flying toward Mars for a gravity assist, the Plasma Instrument for Magnetic Sounding (PIMS) on NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft detected unusual solar wind activity. We later determined that this was caused by the tail end of a CME passing by at just the right moment. Thanks to a rare and fortunate alignment of 17 spacecraft spread across the inner solar system, from Mercury to Mars, we were able to piece together the path and shape of the CME. We found that the part of the CME that hit Earth, Europa Clipper, and Mars showed no obvious warning signs when viewed along the Sun–Earth line alone. In addition, the CME had a highly unusual, lopsided shape and moved through space unevenly. Without spacecraft positioned at multiple vantage points, this CME's impact would likely have gone undetected or been mispredicted, posing a serious hazard to any astronaut traveling to Mars. As humans venture beyond Earth, multipoint observations will be essential for ensuring astronaut safety.



Scientific Discipline
Suggested Itineraries
Neighborhood
Type
Main Session
Discussion