Naomi Cooper
Ball Aerospace will manage a concept study for the NASA Explorers Program to understand the magnetism of the sun and how it affects space, Earth and other planets.
The company said Tuesday the Chromospheric Magnetism Explorer mission concept would use a near ultraviolet spectropolarimeter to make novel observations of the solar magnetic field in the chromosphere to learn how magnetic energy buildup leads to solar flares and coronal mass ejections.
“The CMEx mission concept provides a unique opportunity to answer some of the biggest questions we still have about the sun, and it could help to mature our spectropolarimetry capabilities considerably,” said Lisa Wood, senior director of strategic operations at Ball Aerospace.
Holly Gilbert, director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s High Altitude Observatory, will be the principal investigator for the nine-month study.
CMEx is one of the four concept studies NASA selected in September to expand knowledge of the sun’s dynamics and related phenomena.
