NASA’s PUNCH Mission Prepares For Launch To Study Solar Wind And Sun-Earth Connection

NASA’s PUNCH mission (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) is gearing up for launch no earlier than 28 February 2025. It will soar to sky aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. This groundbreaking mission will capture the first-ever images of the Sun’s outer atmosphere (corona) and the solar wind together. It aims to offer valuable insights into the Sun-Earth connection.

“What we hope PUNCH will bring to humanity is the ability to really see, for the first time, where we live inside the solar wind itself,” said Craig DeForest, principal investigator for PUNCH at the Southwest Research Institute.

Imaging Solar Wind In 3D

NASA’s PUNCH mission employs four suitcase-sized satellites working in unison to form a single, virtual instrument. Positioned in low Earth orbit, these satellites will collectively observe the Sun’s corona and the solar wind. Their overlapping fields of view will create a global 3D perspective.

Unlike conventional cameras that capture flat, two-dimensional images, PUNCH uses polarisation technology. Each satellite is equipped with a polarimeter that filters light waves reflecting off solar material.

“This new perspective will allow scientists to discern the exact trajectory and speed of coronal mass ejections as they move through the inner solar system,” explained DeForest. “This improves on current instruments in two ways: with three-dimensional imaging that lets us locate and track CMEs which are coming directly toward us; and with a broad field of view, which lets us track those CMEs all the way from the Sun to Earth.”

Advanced Instrumentation and Constant Solar Observation

PUNCH’s instrument suite consists of:

• One Narrow Field Imager (NFI) – A coronagraph that blocks direct sunlight to focus on the Sun’s corona.
• Three Wide Field Imagers (WFIs) – Designed to capture faint, outer regions of the solar corona and solar wind.

These satellites will orbit synchronously with the Sun, ensuring 24/7 solar observation, only briefly interrupted by Earth’s shadow. This constant vigilance allows PUNCH to track various solar wind structures. Additionally, it will help it better understand their influence on Earth’s radiation belts, which is vital for space missions traversing these regions.

“I’m most excited to see the ‘in-betweeny’ activity in the solar wind,” said Nicholeen Viall, PUNCH mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “This means not just the biggest structures, like CMEs, or the smallest interactions, but all the different types of solar wind structures that fill that in-between area.”

Bridging Data from Multiple Missions

PUNCH will work in tandem with other NASA missions:

• Parker Solar Probe – Offers close-up views of the Sun’s corona.
• IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe) – Studies the solar wind’s journey beyond Earth.
• CODEX and EZIE missions – Provide complementary data on solar and geomagnetic phenomena.

“The PUNCH mission will bridge these perspectives, providing an unprecedented continuous view that connects the birthplace of the solar wind in the corona to its evolution across interplanetary space,” said Madhulika Guhathakurta, PUNCH program scientist at NASA Headquarters.

Launch And Mission Timeline

NASA will offer live coverage of PUNCH’s prelaunch and launch activities:

• 25 February, 7 p.m. GMT – Science Overview News Conference
• 27 February, 8:30 p.m. GMT – Prelaunch News Conference
• 29 February, 2:15 a.m. GMT – Launch coverage begins on NASA+
• 29 February, 3:09 a.m. GMT – Launch window opens

The mission will undergo a 90-day commissioning phase post-launch before commencing at least two years of scientific operations.

“PUNCH is the latest heliophysics addition to the NASA fleet that delivers groundbreaking science every second of every day,” said Joe Westlake, heliophysics division director at NASA Headquarters. “Launching this mission as a rideshare bolsters its value to the nation by optimizing every pound of launch capacity to maximize the scientific return for the cost of a single launch.”

Leadership And Management

PUNCH is led by the Southwest Research Institute with offices in San Antonio, Texas, and Boulder, Colorado. The mission is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for the Science Mission Directorate in Washington.