Heliospheric Links Explorer (HELIX)

The proposed HELIX mission consists of two spacecraft that will enable stereoscopic imaging of solar mass ejections, starting with their origins on the Sun and continuing to 1 AU and beyond. With a complement of telescopes and plasma detectors, the HELIX spacecraft will test magnetic helicity conservation and other approaches to understanding the physics of solar mass ejections. The mission will help explain how and why solar ejections occur and how they evolve in interplanetary space. 3D images and velocity maps and in-situ space plasma and magnetic field measurements will allow identification and tracking of ejected plasma. Detection of eruptions aimed at Earth will be an immediate practical benefit of the mission. The HELIX mission should lead to the development of a reliable storm prediction capability that will be of significant value to communications systems operators, electric power networks, NASA operators and others.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.