NASA is gearing up to launch a new solar flare early warning system.
This new space weather system is designed to provide real-time alerts to help defend space technology and astronauts from solar flares caused by the unpredictable behavior of the sun.
NASA to Launch New Instrument to Detect Solar Flares
On June 25, Tuesday, a small fleet of scientific instruments known as the Extreme Ultraviolet and X-ray Irradiance Sensors (EXIS) will be launched into 22,000 miles in space.
Developed by researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, EXIS represents the culmination of nearly 20 years of work by the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP).
These instruments are designed to detect the early signs of solar flares, massive bursts of energy from the sun that can have serious effects on Earth.
The launch is set to take place from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the instruments aboard the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-U (GOES-U).
Once in orbit, GOES-U will be renamed GOES-19. The satellite will be launched into space by a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, marking a significant milestone for space weather monitoring.
IN SPACE - FEBRUARY 15: In a screen grab taken from a handout timelapse sequence provided by NASA / SDO, a solar spot in the centre of the Sun is captured from which the first X-class flare was emitted in four years on February 14, 2011. The images taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft reveal the source of the strongest flare to have been released in four years by the Sun, leading to warnings that a resulting geo-magnetic storm may cause disruption to communications and electrical supplies once it reaches the earths magnetic field. Image by NASA/Solar Dynamics Observatory via Getty Images
Why NASA Needs to Detect Solar Flares
The sun periodically unleashes solar flares, which can send torrents of charged particles hurtling toward Earth. These energetic particles can damage electronics, disrupt communications, and even pose a threat to astronauts in orbit.
Last month, NASA observed several large solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) erupting from the sun. These events sent waves of charged particles and magnetic fields toward Earth, resulting in the strongest solar storm experts have seen in over two decades.
In a separate incident in Dec 2023, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured a powerful solar flare that caused temporary radio communication disruptions on Earth.
Frank Eparvier, the associate director for science at LASP and lead scientist for EXIS, emphasized the importance of this mission in a press release: "If we want to understand these things that can affect our technology and safety on Earth, we need to look at the source, and that's the sun."
The EXIS instruments are designed to provide an early warning system by detecting solar flares before any other instrument in space. The suite includes two main sensors: the X-Ray Sensor (XRS) and the Extreme Ultraviolet Sensor (EUVS).
The XRS detects X-ray energy from the sun, identifying the first signs of a solar flare. The EUVS monitors fluctuations in the sun's activity that can influence Earth's atmosphere, causing it to inflate and deflate and potentially dragging down satellites in orbit.
Once a solar flare is detected, the data is relayed to Earth in seconds. Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will evaluate this data and send real-time alerts to satellite operators and space agencies worldwide.
This early warning system is especially critical as we are currently in Solar Cycle 25, which is expected to peak with intense solar activity around the summer of 2025.
