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By European Space Agency
The second of the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellites and the first instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission lifted off at 23:04 CEST on Tuesday, 1 July. The satellite is now on its way to monitor Earth’s atmosphere from an altitude of 36 000 km. From this geostationary orbit, the missions can provide game-changing data for forecasting severe storms and air pollution over Europe.
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By NASA
An unexpectedly strong solar storm rocked our planet on April 23, 2023, sparking auroras as far south as southern Texas in the U.S. and taking the world by surprise.
Two days earlier, the Sun blasted a coronal mass ejection (CME) — a cloud of energetic particles, magnetic fields, and solar material — toward Earth. Space scientists took notice, expecting it could cause disruptions to Earth’s magnetic field, known as a geomagnetic storm. But the CME wasn’t especially fast or massive, and it was preceded by a relatively weak solar flare, suggesting the storm would be minor. But it became severe.
Using NASA heliophysics missions, new studies of this storm and others are helping scientists learn why some CMEs have more intense effects — and better predict the impacts of future solar eruptions on our lives.
During the night of April 23 to 24, 2023, a geomagnetic storm produced auroras that were witnessed as far south as Arizona, Arkansas, and Texas in the U.S. This photo shows green aurora shimmering over Larimore, North Dakota, in the early morning of April 24. Copyright Elan Azriel, used with permission Why Was This Storm So Intense?
A paper published in the Astrophysical Journal on March 31 suggests the CME’s orientation relative to Earth likely caused the April 2023 storm to become surprisingly strong.
The researchers gathered observations from five heliophysics spacecraft across the inner solar system to study the CME in detail as it emerged from the Sun and traveled to Earth.
They noticed a large coronal hole near the CME’s birthplace. Coronal holes are areas where the solar wind — a stream of particles flowing from the Sun — floods outward at higher than normal speeds.
“The fast solar wind coming from this coronal hole acted like an air current, nudging the CME away from its original straight-line path and pushing it closer to Earth’s orbital plane,” said the paper’s lead author, Evangelos Paouris of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. “In addition to this deflection, the CME also rotated slightly.”
Paouris says this turned the CME’s magnetic fields opposite to Earth’s magnetic field and held them there — allowing more of the Sun’s energy to pour into Earth’s environment and intensifying the storm.
The strength of the April 2023 geomagnetic storm was a surprise in part because the coronal mass ejection (CME) that produced it followed a relatively weak solar flare, seen as the bright area to the lower right of center in this extreme ultraviolet image of the Sun from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. The CMEs that produce severe geomagnetic storms are typically preceded by stronger flares. However, a team of scientists think fast solar wind from a coronal hole (the dark area below the flare in this image) helped rotate the CME and made it more potent when it struck Earth. NASA/SDO Cool Thermosphere
Meanwhile, NASA’s GOLD (Global-scale Observations of Limb and Disk) mission revealed another unexpected consequence of the April 2023 storm at Earth.
Before, during, and after the storm, GOLD studied the temperature in the middle thermosphere, a part of Earth’s upper atmosphere about 85 to 120 miles overhead. During the storm, temperatures increased throughout GOLD’s wide field of view over the Americas. But surprisingly, after the storm, temperatures dropped about 90 to 198 degrees Fahrenheit lower than they were before the storm (from about 980 to 1,070 degrees Fahrenheit before the storm to 870 to 980 degrees Fahrenheit afterward).
“Our measurement is the first to show widespread cooling in the middle thermosphere after a strong storm,” said Xuguang Cai of the University of Colorado, Boulder, lead author of a paper about GOLD’s observations published in the journal JGR Space Physics on April 15, 2025.
The thermosphere’s temperature is important, because it affects how much drag Earth-orbiting satellites and space debris experience.
“When the thermosphere cools, it contracts and becomes less dense at satellite altitudes, reducing drag,” Cai said. “This can cause satellites and space debris to stay in orbit longer than expected, increasing the risk of collisions. Understanding how geomagnetic storms and solar activity affect Earth’s upper atmosphere helps protect technologies we all rely on — like GPS, satellites, and radio communications.”
Predicting When Storms Strike
To predict when a CME will trigger a geomagnetic storm, or be “geoeffective,” some scientists are combining observations with machine learning. A paper published last November in the journal Solar Physics describes one such approach called GeoCME.
Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence in which a computer algorithm learns from data to identify patterns, then uses those patterns to make decisions or predictions.
Scientists trained GeoCME by giving it images from the NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft of different CMEs that reached Earth along with SOHO images of the Sun before, during, and after each CME. They then told the model whether each CME produced a geomagnetic storm.
Then, when it was given images from three different science instruments on SOHO, the model’s predictions were highly accurate. Out of 21 geoeffective CMEs, the model correctly predicted all 21 of them; of 7 non-geoeffective ones, it correctly predicted 5 of them.
“The algorithm shows promise,” said heliophysicist Jack Ireland of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who was not involved in the study. “Understanding if a CME will be geoeffective or not can help us protect infrastructure in space and technological systems on Earth. This paper shows machine learning approaches to predicting geoeffective CMEs are feasible.”
The white cloud expanding outward in this image sequence is a coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted from the Sun on April 21, 2023. Two days later, the CME struck Earth and produced a surprisingly strong geomagnetic storm. The images in this sequence are from a coronagraph on the NASA/ESA (European Space Agency) SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) spacecraft. The coronagraph uses a disk to cover the Sun and reveal fainter details around it. The Sun’s location and size are indicated by a small white circle. The planet Jupiter appears as a bright dot on the far right. NASA/ESA/SOHO Earlier Warnings
During a severe geomagnetic storm in May 2024 — the strongest to rattle Earth in over 20 years — NASA’s STEREO (Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory) measured the magnetic field structure of CMEs as they passed by.
When a CME headed for Earth hits a spacecraft first, that spacecraft can often measure the CME and its magnetic field directly, helping scientists determine how strong the geomagnetic storm will be at Earth. Typically, the first spacecraft to get hit are one million miles from Earth toward the Sun at a place called Lagrange Point 1 (L1), giving us only 10 to 60 minutes advanced warning.
By chance, during the May 2024 storm, when several CMEs erupted from the Sun and merged on their way to Earth, NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft happened to be between us and the Sun, about 4 million miles closer to the Sun than L1.
A paper published March 17, 2025, in the journal Space Weather reports that if STEREO-A had served as a CME sentinel, it could have provided an accurate prediction of the resulting storm’s strength 2 hours and 34 minutes earlier than a spacecraft could at L1.
According to the paper’s lead author, Eva Weiler of the Austrian Space Weather Office in Graz, “No other Earth-directed superstorm has ever been observed by a spacecraft positioned closer to the Sun than L1.”
Earth’s Lagrange points are places in space where the gravitational pull between the Sun and Earth balance, making them relatively stable locations to put spacecraft. NASA By Vanessa Thomas
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A collage of artist concepts highlighting the novel approaches proposed by the 2025 NIAC awardees for possible future missions. Through the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program, NASA nurtures visionary yet credible concepts that could one day “change the possible” in aerospace, while engaging America’s innovators and entrepreneurs as partners in the journey.
These concepts span various disciplines and aim to advance capabilities such as finding resources on distant planets, making space travel safer and more efficient, and even providing benefits to life here on Earth. The NIAC portfolio of studies also includes several solutions and technologies that could help NASA achieve a future human presence on Mars. One concept at a time, NIAC is taking technology concepts from science fiction to reality.
Breathing beyond Earth
Astronauts have a limited supply of water and oxygen in space, which makes producing and maintaining these resources extremely valuable. One NIAC study investigates a system to separate oxygen and hydrogen gas bubbles in microgravity from water, without touching the water directly. Researchers found the concept can handle power changes, requires less clean water, works in a wide range of temperatures, and is more resistant to bacteria than existing oxygen generation systems for short-term crewed missions. These new developments could make it a great fit for a long trip to Mars.
Newly selected for another phase of study, the team wants to understand how the system will perform over long periods in space and consider ways to simplify the system’s build. They plan to test a large version of the system in microgravity in hopes of proving how it may be a game changer for future missions.
Detoxifying water on Mars
Unlike water on Earth, Mars’ water is contaminated with toxic chemical compounds such as perchlorates and chlorates. These contaminants threaten human health even at tiny concentrations and can easily corrode hardware and equipment. Finding a way to remove contaminates from water will benefit future human explorers and prepare them to live on Mars long term.
Researchers are creating a regenerative perchlorate reduction system that uses perchlorate reduction pathways from naturally occurring bacteria. Perchlorate is a compound comprised of oxygen and chlorine that is typically used for rocket propellant. These perchlorate reduction pathways can be engineered into a type of bacterium that is known for its remarkable resilience, even in the harsh conditions of space. The system would use these enzymes to cause the biochemical reduction of chlorate and perchlorate to chloride and oxygen, eliminating these toxic molecules from the water. With the technology to detoxify water on Mars, humans could thrive on the Red Planet with an abundant water supply.
Tackling deep space radiation exposure
Mitochondria are the small structures within cells often called the “powerhouse,” but what if they could also power human health in space? Chronic radiation exposure is among the many threats to long-term human stays in space, including time spent traveling to and from Mars. One NIAC study explores transplanting new, undamaged mitochondria to radiation-damaged cells and investigates cell responses to relevant radiation levels to simulate deep-space travel. Researchers propose using in vitro human cell models – complex 3D structures grown in a lab to mimic aspects of organs – to demonstrate how targeted mitochondria replacement therapy could regenerate cellular function after acute and long-term radiation exposure.
While still in early stages, the research could help significantly reduce radiation risks for crewed missions to Mars and beyond. Here on Earth, the technology could also help treat a wide variety of age-related degenerative diseases associated with mitochondrial dysfunction.
Suiting up for Mars
Mars is no “walk in the park,” which is why specialized spacesuits are essential for future missions. Engineers propose using a digital template to generate custom, cost-effective, high-performance spacesuits. This spacesuit concept uses something called digital thread technology to protect crewmembers from the extreme Martian environment, while providing the mobility to perform daily Mars exploration endeavors, including scientific excursions.
This now completed NIAC study focused on mapping key spacesuit components and current manufacturing technologies to digital components, identifying technology gaps, benchmarking required capabilities, and developing a conceptional digital thread model for future spacesuit development and operational support. This research could help astronauts suit up for Mars and beyond in a way like never before.
Redefining what’s possible
From studying Mars to researching black holes and monitoring the atmosphere of Venus, NIAC concepts help us push the boundaries of exploration. By collaborating with innovators and entrepreneurs, NASA advances concepts for future and current missions while energizing the space economy.
If you have a visionary idea to share, you can apply to NIAC’s 2026 Phase I solicitation now until July 15.
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4 min read NASA Tech to Use Moonlight to Enhance Measurements from Space
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By NASA
4 Min Read NASA Tech to Use Moonlight to Enhance Measurements from Space
NASA's Arcstone instrument will be the first mission exclusively dedicated to measuring moonlight, or lunar reflectance, from space as a way to calibrate and improve science data collected by Earth-viewing, in-orbit instruments. Credits: Blue Canyon Technologies NASA will soon launch a one-of-a-kind instrument, called Arcstone, to improve the quality of data from Earth-viewing sensors in orbit. In this technology demonstration, the mission will measure sunlight reflected from the Moon— a technique called lunar calibration. Such measurements of lunar spectral reflectance can ultimately be used to set a high-accuracy, universal standard for use across the international scientific community and commercial space industry.
To ensure satellite and airborne sensors are working properly, researchers calibrate them by comparing the sensor measurements against a known standard measurement. Arcstone will be the first mission exclusively dedicated to measuring lunar reflectance from space as a way to calibrate and improve science data collected by Earth-viewing, in-orbit instruments.
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This visualization demonstrates how Arcstone will operate while in orbit measuring lunar reflectance to establish a new calibration standard for future Earth-observing remote sensors. Arcstone’s satellite platform was manufactured by Blue Canyon Technologies. NASA/Tim Marvel/Blue Canyon Technologies “One of the most challenging tasks in remote sensing from space is achieving required instrument calibration accuracy on-orbit,” said Constantine Lukashin, principal investigator for the Arcstone mission and physical scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. “The Moon is an excellent and available calibration source beyond Earth’s atmosphere. The light reflected off the Moon is extremely stable and measurable at a very high level of detail. Arcstone’s goal is to improve the accuracy of lunar calibration to increase the quality of spaceborne remote sensing data products for generations to come.”
Across its planned six-month mission, Arcstone will use a spectrometer — a scientific instrument that measures and analyzes light by separating it into its constituent wavelengths, or spectrum — to measure lunar spectral reflectance. Expected to launch in late June as a rideshare on a small CubeSat, Arcstone will begin collecting data, a milestone called first light, approximately three weeks after reaching orbit.
“The mission demonstrates a new, more cost-efficient instrument design, hardware performance, operations, and data processing to achieve high-accuracy reference measurements of lunar spectral reflectance,” said Lukashin.
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Measuring the lunar reflectance at the necessary ranges of lunar phase angles and librations is required to build a highly accurate lunar reference. A satellite platform in space would provide this required sampling. Arcstone will use a spectrometer to demonstrate the ability to observe and establish a data record of lunar spectral reflectance throughout its librations and phases for other instruments to use the Moon to calibrate sensors.NASA/Scientific Visualization Studio Measurements of lunar reflectance taken from Earth’s surface can be affected by interference from the atmosphere, which can complicate calibration efforts. Researchers already use the Sun and Moon to calibrate spaceborne instruments, but not at a level of precision and agreement that could come from having a universal standard.
Lukashin and colleagues want to increase calibration accuracy by getting above the atmosphere to measure reflected solar wavelengths in a way that provides a stable and universal calibration source. Another recent NASA mission, called the Airborne Lunar Spectral Irradiance mission also used sensors mounted on high-altitude aircraft to improve lunar irradiance measurements from planes.
There is not an internationally accepted standard (SI-traceable) calibration for lunar reflectance from space across the scientific community or the commercial space industry.
“Dedicated radiometric characterization measurements of the Moon have never been acquired from a space-based platform,” said Thomas Stone, co-investigator for Arcstone and scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). “A high-accuracy, SI-traceable lunar calibration system enables several important capabilities for space-based Earth observing missions such as calibrating datasets against a common reference – the Moon, calibrating sensors on-orbit, and the ability to bridge gaps in past datasets.”
The Arcstone spacecraft with solar panels installed as it is tested before being integrated for launch. Blue Canyon Technologies If the initial Arcstone technology demonstration is successful, a longer Arcstone mission could allow scientists to make the Moon the preferred reference standard for many other satellites. The new calibration standard could also be applied retroactively to previous Earth data records to improve their accuracy or fill in data gaps for data fields. It could also improve high-precision sensor performance on-orbit, which is critical for calibrating instruments that may be sensitive to degradation or hardware breakdown over time in space.
“Earth observations from space play a critical role in monitoring the environmental health of our planet,” said Stone. “Lunar calibration is a robust and cost-effective way to achieve high accuracy and inter-consistency of Earth observation datasets, enabling more accurate assessments of Earth’s current state and more reliable predictions of future trends.”
The Arcstone technology demonstration project is funded by NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office’s In-space Validation of Earth Science Technologies. Arcstone is led by NASA’s Langley Research Center in partnership with Colorado University Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, USGS, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Resonon Inc., Blue Canyon Technologies, and Quartus Engineering.
For more information on NASA’s Arcstone mission visit:
https://science.larc.nasa.gov/arcstone/about/
About the Author
Charles G. Hatfield
Science Public Affairs Officer, NASA Langley Research Center
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Last Updated Jun 20, 2025 LocationNASA Langley Research Center Related Terms
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3 min read NASA Measures Moonlight to Improve Earth Observations
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