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Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
SPACE WEATHER AND SPACE CLIMATOLOGY: A VISION FOR FUTURE CAPABILITIES
139
strengthened through organizational changes and an infusion of resources. The committee also envisions
a greater role for NASA in the multiagency NSWP. 5
Research Sources of Space Weather Information
NASA research satellites such as the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO; with the European Space Agency [ESA]), Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory
(STEREO), and Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which are designed for scientific studies, have over
the past decade or more provided critical measurements essential for specifying and forecasting the space
environment system, including the outward propagation of eruptive solar events and solar wind conditions
upstream from Earth. Although these observational capabilities have become essential for space environment operations, climatological monitoring, and research, NASA currently has neither the mandate nor
the budget to sustain these measurements into the future. A growing literature has documented the need to
provide a long-term strategy for monitoring in space and has elucidated the large number of space weather
effects, the forecasting of which depends critically on the availability of suitable data streams. 6 An example
is the provision of measurements of particles and fields at the L1 Lagrange point 7 (or, using technologies
such as solar sails, closer to the Sun on the Sun-Earth line), which is critical for short-term forecasting of
such harmful effects of space weather as damage to Earth-orbiting satellites, reduction of GPS accuracy,
and potentially deleterious geomagnetically induced currents on the power grid.
The survey committee found that the existing ad hoc approach to providing space weather-related
capabilities is inadequate. To help ensure a stronger approach, the committee articulates a vision for an
enhanced national commitment by partnering agencies to continuous measurements of critical space
environment parameters, analogous to the monitoring of the terrestrial environment being conducted by
NASA in collaboration with a number of other agencies such as NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS). Anticipating that the criticality of such a program will grow relative to other societal demands, the
survey committee envisions NASA as utilizing its unique space-based capabilities as the basis for a new
program that could provide sustained monitoring of key space environment observables to meet pressing
national needs (see Box 7.1).
In addition to ensuring the continuity of critical measurements, robust space environment models
capable of operational deployment are also necessary for the prediction and specification of conditions
where observations are lacking. The survey committee anticipates that it will take decades to achieve
an infrastructure for monitoring and characterizing space environment weather and climatology that is
equivalent to current capabilities in the modeling and forecasting of terrestrial weather and climate; thus, it
is necessary to start immediately. Achievement of critical continuity of key space environment parameters,
their utilization in advanced models, and application to operations constitute a major endeavor that will
require unprecedented cooperation among agencies in the areas in which each has specific expertise and
unique capabilities.
5 The committee’s objectives are also consistent with the recommendations contained in the 2010 NSWP strategic plan. The
plan’s recommendations for the next decade included the following: (1) establish a NSWP focal point in the Executive Office of the
President; (2) ensure continuity of critical data sources; (3) strengthen the science-to-user chain; and (4) emphasize public awareness
of space weather critical needs (Committee for Space Weather, Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and
Supporting Research, National Space Weather Program Strategic Plan, FCM-P30-2010, August 17, 2010, available at http://www.
ofcm.gov/nswp-sp/fcm-p30.htm).
6 For example, see National Research Council, Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts: A
Workshop Report, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2008, and D.N. Baker and L.J. Lanzerotti, A continuous L1
presence required for space weather, Space Weather 6:S11001, doi:10.1029/2008SW000445, 2008.
7 A description of the Lagrange points is available at http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission/observatory_l2.html.
Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society
SPACE WEATHER AND SPACE CLIMATOLOGY: A VISION FOR FUTURE CAPABILITIES
139
strengthened through organizational changes and an infusion of resources. The committee also envisions
a greater role for NASA in the multiagency NSWP. 5
Research Sources of Space Weather Information
NASA research satellites such as the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE), Solar and Heliospheric
Observatory (SOHO; with the European Space Agency [ESA]), Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory
(STEREO), and Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which are designed for scientific studies, have over
the past decade or more provided critical measurements essential for specifying and forecasting the space
environment system, including the outward propagation of eruptive solar events and solar wind conditions
upstream from Earth. Although these observational capabilities have become essential for space environment operations, climatological monitoring, and research, NASA currently has neither the mandate nor
the budget to sustain these measurements into the future. A growing literature has documented the need to
provide a long-term strategy for monitoring in space and has elucidated the large number of space weather
effects, the forecasting of which depends critically on the availability of suitable data streams. 6 An example
is the provision of measurements of particles and fields at the L1 Lagrange point 7 (or, using technologies
such as solar sails, closer to the Sun on the Sun-Earth line), which is critical for short-term forecasting of
such harmful effects of space weather as damage to Earth-orbiting satellites, reduction of GPS accuracy,
and potentially deleterious geomagnetically induced currents on the power grid.
The survey committee found that the existing ad hoc approach to providing space weather-related
capabilities is inadequate. To help ensure a stronger approach, the committee articulates a vision for an
enhanced national commitment by partnering agencies to continuous measurements of critical space
environment parameters, analogous to the monitoring of the terrestrial environment being conducted by
NASA in collaboration with a number of other agencies such as NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey
(USGS). Anticipating that the criticality of such a program will grow relative to other societal demands, the
survey committee envisions NASA as utilizing its unique space-based capabilities as the basis for a new
program that could provide sustained monitoring of key space environment observables to meet pressing
national needs (see Box 7.1).
In addition to ensuring the continuity of critical measurements, robust space environment models
capable of operational deployment are also necessary for the prediction and specification of conditions
where observations are lacking. The survey committee anticipates that it will take decades to achieve
an infrastructure for monitoring and characterizing space environment weather and climatology that is
equivalent to current capabilities in the modeling and forecasting of terrestrial weather and climate; thus, it
is necessary to start immediately. Achievement of critical continuity of key space environment parameters,
their utilization in advanced models, and application to operations constitute a major endeavor that will
require unprecedented cooperation among agencies in the areas in which each has specific expertise and
unique capabilities.
5 The committee’s objectives are also consistent with the recommendations contained in the 2010 NSWP strategic plan. The
plan’s recommendations for the next decade included the following: (1) establish a NSWP focal point in the Executive Office of the
President; (2) ensure continuity of critical data sources; (3) strengthen the science-to-user chain; and (4) emphasize public awareness
of space weather critical needs (Committee for Space Weather, Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and
Supporting Research, National Space Weather Program Strategic Plan, FCM-P30-2010, August 17, 2010, available at http://www.
ofcm.gov/nswp-sp/fcm-p30.htm).
6 For example, see National Research Council, Severe Space Weather Events—Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts: A
Workshop Report, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2008, and D.N. Baker and L.J. Lanzerotti, A continuous L1
presence required for space weather, Space Weather 6:S11001, doi:10.1029/2008SW000445, 2008.
7 A description of the Lagrange points is available at http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/mission/observatory_l2.html.