Under the decision, one mission has been approved to move closer to flight design, while a second will undergo an extended period of early-stage development.
The agency’s Science Mission Directorate has chosen the Cross-scale INvestigation of Earth’s Magnetotail and Aurora (CINEMA) mission to progress to Phase B, which covers detailed planning and design for spacecraft, instruments and mission operations.
The mission is led by principal investigator Professor Robyn Millan from Dartmouth College in the United States.
CINEMA is designed to deepen scientific understanding of how plasma energy flows into Earth’s magnetosphere, a complex and highly dynamic system that can shift from steady to explosive behaviour. These changes drive phenomena such as fast-moving plasma jets, large-scale electrical current systems and the aurora australis and borealis.
NASA’s heliophysics division director, Joe Westlake, said the mission would help explain why some space weather events have dramatic effects while others do not.
“CINEMA will help us understand magnetic convection in Earth’s magnetosphere, which is a key piece of the puzzle in explaining why some space weather events produce spectacular aurora and disrupt ground- and space-based infrastructure, while others quickly fizzle out,” he said.
“Using multiple, multi-point measurements to improve predictions of how these events affect people and technology is a central priority for the future of heliophysics.”
The mission would deploy a constellation of nine small satellites in low-Earth polar orbit. Each spacecraft would carry an energetic particle detector, an auroral imager and a magnetometer, allowing scientists to link energetic particle activity in Earth’s large-scale magnetic environment with visible auroral signatures in the upper atmosphere.
NASA has allocated about US$28 million for CINEMA to enter Phase B. The total mission cost, excluding launch, is capped at US$182.8 million. Phase B will run for around 10 months, with a potential launch no earlier than 2030 if the mission receives final approval.
NASA has also selected the Chromospheric Magnetism Explorer (CMEx) for an extended Phase A study, allowing the team to further refine the mission’s design for possible future selection.
The study will run for 12 months at a cost of US$2 million and is led by Professor Holly Gilbert from the US National Center for Atmospheric Research.
CMEx is a proposed single-spacecraft mission that would use proven ultraviolet spectropolarimetric instruments, drawing on technology previously demonstrated during NASA’s CLASP suborbital sounding rocket program.
The mission would focus on the sun’s lower chromosphere, helping scientists better understand the origins of solar eruptions and the magnetic drivers of the solar wind.
Both mission concepts completed an initial one-year feasibility study after being proposed under NASA’s 2022 Heliophysics Explorers Program for small class missions.
NASA’s acting associate flight director for heliophysics, Asal Naseri, said the work was increasingly critical as reliance on space-based systems grows.
“Space plays a role in almost everything we do,” she said. “If these missions proceed to flight, they will strengthen our ability to predict solar activity that can damage the satellites we depend on and reduce risks to astronauts operating near Earth, the moon or Mars.”