Polarimetry to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH)

March 3, 2025

NASA’s PUNCH mission has garnered attention for its innovative approach to studying the Sun’s atmosphere and space weather.
Launch Vehicle: The PUNCH mission will be launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket.
Launch Location: The mission will be launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Mission Objective: Study the Sun’s atmosphere and its influence on space weather, focusing on solar winds and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).
Key Features:
- Satellites: Four suitcase-sized satellites, each weighing 64 kg, will be deployed into Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
- Technology: Equipped with three Wide Field Imagers (WFIs) and one Narrow Field Imager to capture images every four minutes with polarising filters.
Mission Goals:
- Investigate the solar corona and its transition into solar wind.
- Provide a 3D view of the solar atmosphere using light polarisation to trace solar wind and CME origins.
Importance of Space Weather Predictions:
- Solar events like CMEs can disrupt satellite communications, GPS, and power grids.
- PUNCH aims to improve space weather forecasts, protecting technological systems on Earth.