Operating

Heliophysics research and exploration aims to explore the Sun-Earth system to understand the Sun and its effects on Earth, the solar system, and the space environmental conditions that will be experienced by explorers, and to demonstrate technologies that can improve future operational systems.

2010 Senior Review of the Mission Operations and Data Analysis Program for the Heliophysics Operating Missions
2008 Senior Review of the Mission Operations and Data Analysis Program for the Heliophysics Operating Missions
2005 Senior Review of Sun-Solar-System Connection Missions Operations and Data Analysis Program
2003 Senior Review of the Sun-Earth Connection Mission Operations and Data Analysis Program
2001 Senior Review of the Sun-Earth Connection Mission Operations and Data Analysis Program
1997 Senior Review of the Sun-Earth Connection Mission Operations and Data Analysis Program

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Division	Name	Launch Date	Phase
Heliophysics	ACE Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) observes particles of solar, interplanetary, interstellar, and galactic origins, spanning the energy range from solar wind ions to galactic cosmic ray nuclei. This mission is part of SMD's Explorers Program. This mission is part of SMD's ...	19970825 August 25, 1997	3Operating
Heliophysics	AIM Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) is a mission to determine the causes of the highest altitude clouds in the Earth's atmosphere. The number of clouds in the middle atmosphere (mesosphere) over the Earth's poles has been increasing over ...	20070425 April 25, 2007	3Operating
Heliophysics	CINDI/CNOFS The Coupled Ion-Neutral Dynamics Investigations (CINDI) is a mission to understand the dynamics of the Earth's ionosphere. CINDI will provide two instruments for the Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System (C/NOFS) satellite, a project of the United States Air Force. This mission ...	20080416 April 16, 2008	3Operating
Heliophysics	Cluster-II Cluster is a European Space Agency program with major NASA involvement. The 4 Cluster spacecraft are providing a detailed three-dimensional map of the magnetosphere, with surprising results. This mission is part of SMD's Heliophysics Research program.	20000716 July 16, 2000	15Extended
Heliophysics	Geotail The GEOTAIL mission is a collaborative project undertaken by the Japanese Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) and NASA. Its primary objective is to study the tail of the Earth's magnetosphere. The information gathered is allowing scientists to model ...	19920724 July 24, 1992	3Operating
Heliophysics	Hinode (Solar-B) Hinode (formerly known as Solar-B) is a Japanese ISAS mission proposed as a follow-on to the highly successful Japan/US/UK Yohkoh (Solar-A) collaboration. The mission consists of a coordinated set of optical, EUV and X-ray instruments that are studying the interaction ...	20060923 September 23, 2006	3Operating
Heliophysics	IBEX IBEX will be the first mission designed to detect the edge of the Solar System. As the solar wind from the sun flows out beyond Pluto, it collides with the material between the stars, forming a shock front. This mission ...	20081019 October 19, 2008	3Operating
Heliophysics	RHESSI Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscope Imager (RHESSI) studies solar flares in X-rays and gamma-rays. It explores the basic physics of particle acceleration and explosive energy release in these energetic events in the Sun's atmosphere. This is accomplished by imaging ...	20020205 February 05, 2002	3Operating
Heliophysics	SOHO Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a solar observatory studying the structure, chemical composition, and dynamics of the solar interior. SOHO a joint venture of the European Space Agency and NASA. This mission is part of SMD's Heliophysics Research program.	19951202 December 02, 1995	3Operating
Heliophysics	Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) is the first mission and crown jewel in a fleet of NASA missions to study our sun. The mission is the cornerstone of a NASA science program called Living With a Star (LWS). The goal ...	20100211 February 11, 2010	3Operating
Heliophysics	STEREO The goal of STEREO is to understand the origin the Sun's coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and their consequences for Earth. The mission consists of two spacecraft, one leading and the other lagging Earth in its orbit. The spacecraft carries instrumentation ...	20061025 October 25, 2006	3Operating
Heliophysics	THEMIS Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) is a study of the onset of magnetic storms within the tail of the Earth's magnetosphere. THEMIS will fly five microsatellite probes through different regions of the magnetosphere and observe ...	20070217 February 17, 2007	3Operating
Heliophysics	TIMED Thermosphere, Ionosphere, Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) explores the energy transfer into and out of the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere/Ionosphere (MLTI) region of the Earth's atmosphere. This mission is part of SMD's Solar Terrestrial Probes Program.	20011207 December 07, 2001	3Operating
Heliophysics	TWINS A & B TWINS will provide stereo imaging of the Earth's magnetosphere, the region surrounding the planet controlled by its magnetic field and containing the Van Allen radiation belts and other energetic charged particles. This mission is part of SMD's Explorers Program. This ...	20080313 March 13, 2008	3Operating
Heliophysics	Van Allen Probes The Van Allen Probes are designed to help us understand the Sun’s influence on Near-Earth space by studying the Earth’s radiation belts on various scales of space and time.	20120830 August 2012	3Operating
Heliophysics	Voyager The twin Voyager 1 and 2 spacecraft continue exploring where nothing from Earth has flown before. In the 25th year after their 1977 launches, they each are much farther away from Earth and the Sun than Pluto is and approaching ...	19770905 September 05, 1977	3Operating
Heliophysics	Wind Wind studies the solar wind and its impact on the near-Earth environment. This mission is part of SMD's Heliophysics Research program.	19941101 November 01, 1994	3Operating