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NASA picks 5 proposals for missions to understand the space environment
By Bradford Betz
Published September 01, 2020
NASA last week announced that it has picked five proposals for concept studies of missions that will help improve our understanding of the Sun and the way it interacts with the Earth in space.
The agency revealed the five proposals last Friday. The aim is to gain information that will help protect astronauts, satellites and communications signals in space, NASA said.
A stream of particles and energy from the sun drives space’s weather system near Earth and can affect the activity of spacecraft and astronauts. (NASA)
“Each one of these proposals offers the chance to observe something we have never before seen or to provide unprecedented insights into key areas of research, all to further the exploration of the universe we live in,” Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, said in a statement.
The proposals will each receive $1.25 million to fund a nine-month concept study. After the study period, NASA will choose one to two proposals leading to launch.
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Nicky Fox, director of the heliophysics division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said the missions will provide sensors throughout the solar system and offer a “key perspective to understand the space that human technology and humans increasingly travel through.”
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The five proposals were selected based on their potential scientific value and feasibility of development plans. The chosen investigation will be capped at $250 million with funding from NASA’s Heliophysics Explorer’s program.
https://www.foxnews.com/science/nasa-picks-5-proposals-understand-space