Space weather investigation Frontier (SWIFT)

Abstract

The Space Weather Investigation Frontier (SWIFT) mission will aim at making major discoveries on the three-dimensional structure and dynamics of heliospheric structures that drive space weather. The focus will be on Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs) that originate from massive expulsions of plasma and magnetic flux from the solar corona. They cause the largest geomagnetic storms and solar energetic particle events, threatening to endanger life and disrupt technology on Earth and in space. A big current problem, both regarding fundamental solar-terrestrial physics and space weather, is that we do not yet understand spatial characteristics and temporal evolution of ICMEs and that the existing remote-sensing and in-situ observatories are not suited for resolving multi-layered and evolutionary structures in these massive storm drivers. Here, we propose a groundbreaking mission concept study using solar sail technology that, for the first time, will make continuous, in-situ multi-point observations along the Sun-Earth line beyond the Lagrange point L1 (sub-L1). This unique position, in combination with L1 assets, will allow distinguishing between local and global processes, spatial characteristics, temporal evolution, and particle energization mechanisms related to ICMEs. In addition, measurements of the magnetic field in earthbound ICMEs and their sub-structures from the SWIFT location will double the current forecasting lead-times from L1. This concept also paves the way for missions with increasingly longer forecasting lead-times, addressing NASA and NOAA’s space weather goals, as set forth by the Decadal Survey. The objective of this communication is to inform the community of the ongoing effort, including plans to further develop the mission concept, supported by the Heliophysics Flight Opportunities Studies (HFOS) program under NASA’s Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES).

The Width of Magnetic Ejecta Measured near 1 au: Lessons from STEREO-A Measurements in 2021–2022

“…Numerous multi-spacecraft in situ mission concepts have been recently proposed to investigate CMEs, shocks, and solar energetic particles (SEPs; e.g., see white papers submitted to the 2023 Decadal Survey (Allen et al 2022;Akhavan-Tafti et al 2023;Lugaz et al 2023;Nykyri et al 2023), some of them based on earlier concepts (St. Cyr et al 2000a;Szabo 2005). The inter-spacecraft separations have been proposed to vary between 60°and 90°for the HELIX mission concept and less than 1°for the SWIFT concept of Akhavan-Tafti et al (2023).…”

“…Numerous multi-spacecraft in situ mission concepts have been recently proposed to investigate CMEs, shocks, and solar energetic particles (SEPs; e.g., see white papers submitted to the 2023 Decadal Survey (Allen et al 2022;Akhavan-Tafti et al 2023;Lugaz et al 2023;Nykyri et al 2023), some of them based on earlier concepts (St. Cyr et al 2000a;Szabo 2005). The inter-spacecraft separations have been proposed to vary between 60°and 90°for the HELIX mission concept and less than 1°for the SWIFT concept of Akhavan-Tafti et al (2023). We first note that the separations needed to investigate ME magnetic field and coherence may differ significantly from the separations needed to investigate SEP spread due to field line meandering or cross-field diffusion, and from the separations needed to investigate the global structure of shocks.…”

Magnetospheric Time‐History in Storm‐Time Magnetic Flux Dynamics: A Global Simulation Campaign

“…Finally, the prediction of the storm‐time flux dynamics can further be improved with a better forecast of the solar wind geo‐effectiveness. The SWIFT mission (Akhavan‐Tafti, Johnson, et al., 2023) is designed to enhance space weather prediction by improving our understanding of the morphology and temporal evolution of solar wind structures and their geo‐effectiveness from a sub‐L1 vantage point.…”

Multipoint Observations of the Dynamics at an ICME Sheath–Ejecta Boundary

“…Together with previous work, it highlights the need for continuous (sub)secondresolution plasma and field measurements at multiple locations in the solar wind, which can address the spatiotemporal structure of ICMEs. These results should direct the future spacecraft mission design, which aims at discovering the detailed structure and evolution of ICMEs (e.g., Allen et al 2022;Akhavan-Tafti et al 2023;Nykyri et al 2023).…”