Heliospheric Physics is...

The science of how our Sun works

The science of Earths magnetic shield
The key to understanding Space Weather and its effects on Earth
The study of our solar system and its place in the galaxy

From the interior of our Sun to the power grids on Earth to beyond the
orbit of Pluto...

SDO/AIA image of the 30-March-2010 solar eruption. The blue dot is Earth approximately to scale.

Courtesy NASA and Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory

http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/missions-projects/

Exciting Science at LASP, CU-Boulder

Image courtesy Andy Kale, Univ. of Alberta

LASP was heavily involved in the NASA

THEMIS mission; a constellation of five
satellites in orbit since 2007 to investigate
plasma dynamics near Earth

NASA s Living with a Star Van Allen Probes

mission discovered a third radiation belt
around Earth using LASPs REPT instrument

The Future of LASP

The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

helps to understand the Sun-Earth
connection by studying the solar
atmosphere; led by NASA LWS and features
the EVE instrument built and calibrated by a
LASP team

Magnetic
Reconnection

Journey to the Sun

NASA s Solar Probe Plus

Diving into the Sun s corona to directly measure sources of
space weather!

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NASA s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission

Four spacecraft will study the explosive process of magnetic reconnection in
the Earths magnetosphere; LASP contributes several instruments and will
serve as the main Science Operations Center for the mission !

We support the implementation !

of the DRIVE initiative !

Educational Opportunities
Small space physics experiments, such as CubeSat missions, are ideal for undergraduate
and graduate student involvement. These initiatives help train a new generation of space
physicists.
LASP participates in many of these opportunities. The Colorado Student Space Weather
Experiment (CSSWE) CubeSat was one such successful mission funded by NSF to
investigate the energetic particles
entrained in the Earths radiation
belts. Designed, developed and
tested by a team of mainly CU
students, the little spacecraft was
launched in September, 2012 and
has remained operational until the
present day more than 4 times
the expected lifetime!
With 10 resulting peer-reviewed
journal publications, and many
months of on-orbit data, CSSWE
is truly a successful student-led
scientific endeavor.

(from the NRC Committee report on a Decadal !

Strategy for Solar and Space Physics)!

Diversify observing platforms!

Microsatellites and Mid-scale missions!

Realize science potential!

Sufficiently fund data analysis!

Integrate platforms!

Strengthen ties between agency disciplines!

Venture forward!

Science centers, technology development!

Educate & inspire!

Empower next generation of space researchers!

CSSWE team of students and researchers

http://sites.nationalacademies.org/xpedio/groups/depssite/
documents/webpage/deps_071372.pdf

Solar and Space Physics enable and protect a technological society. Please
protect NASA and NSF research funding in the upcoming budget discussions.!