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Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
NASA PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
129
The next priority element is the Explorer augmentation, and this is also to be acted on as early in the
decade as possible. Explorer missions are cost-effective means of strategically pursuing new and exciting science. The recommended augmentation of the Explorer line allows for a restored MIDEX line to be
deployed alternately with SMEX missions at a 2- to 3-year cadence and for regular selection of Missions
of Opportunity.
The committee’s highest-ranked STP and LWS missions, IMAP and GDC, are implemented next, exploring the outer heliosphere and near-Earth space, respectively. The minimum recommended cadence for the
STP missions is 4 years, and so IMAP, as a moderate-size mission, could launch in 2021 and be followed
by DYNAMIC and MEDICI, the next-highest-ranked STP science targets (Figure 6.5). The recommended
cadence for LWS is 6 years (Figure 6.6), and so only GDC could begin in this decade. Moreover, launching
GDC even as early as 2024, as shown in Figure 6.1, would require an increase in the heliophysics budget,
FIGURE 6.5 Recommended Solar-Terrestrial Probes (STP) program budget with associated mission cadence. The dashed
line represents the recommended funding level for the STP program including a 2 percent inflation slope. Funding at the
full level occurs in approximately 2019, with a 4-year mission cadence beginning with IMAP and then continuing with
DYNAMIC and MEDICI. The dips in funding between missions are intentional, with the objective of allowing for both technology development and mission extensions.
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
$400
sƟmated Cost (RY$M)
MEDICI (2029 Launch)
DYNAMIC (2025 Launch)
IMAP (2021 Launch)
Future STP
Future STP Budget
$0
$50
$100
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
2037
2038
2039
2040
E
IMAP
DYNAMIC
MEDICI
Figure 6-5
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
NASA PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION
129
The next priority element is the Explorer augmentation, and this is also to be acted on as early in the
decade as possible. Explorer missions are cost-effective means of strategically pursuing new and exciting science. The recommended augmentation of the Explorer line allows for a restored MIDEX line to be
deployed alternately with SMEX missions at a 2- to 3-year cadence and for regular selection of Missions
of Opportunity.
The committee’s highest-ranked STP and LWS missions, IMAP and GDC, are implemented next, exploring the outer heliosphere and near-Earth space, respectively. The minimum recommended cadence for the
STP missions is 4 years, and so IMAP, as a moderate-size mission, could launch in 2021 and be followed
by DYNAMIC and MEDICI, the next-highest-ranked STP science targets (Figure 6.5). The recommended
cadence for LWS is 6 years (Figure 6.6), and so only GDC could begin in this decade. Moreover, launching
GDC even as early as 2024, as shown in Figure 6.1, would require an increase in the heliophysics budget,
FIGURE 6.5 Recommended Solar-Terrestrial Probes (STP) program budget with associated mission cadence. The dashed
line represents the recommended funding level for the STP program including a 2 percent inflation slope. Funding at the
full level occurs in approximately 2019, with a 4-year mission cadence beginning with IMAP and then continuing with
DYNAMIC and MEDICI. The dips in funding between missions are intentional, with the objective of allowing for both technology development and mission extensions.
$150
$200
$250
$300
$350
$400
sƟmated Cost (RY$M)
MEDICI (2029 Launch)
DYNAMIC (2025 Launch)
IMAP (2021 Launch)
Future STP
Future STP Budget
$0
$50
$100
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
2030
2031
2032
2033
2034
2035
2036
2037
2038
2039
2040
E
IMAP
DYNAMIC
MEDICI
Figure 6-5