Researchers at LASP interested in plasmas can be found in all LASP science divisions. The goal of the Space Physics Group is to understand the fundamental processes of this fourth state (plasma), to understand how the dynamics take place in our near space and to predict space weather which influences our high-tech society and human space activities. The researchers associated with the Space Physics Group at LASP do research in four main areas:

1. Space Plasmas

   At LASP, scientists study fundamental plasma processes such as reconnection, shocks, Alfven waves, and ion heating among others. The different processes are studied primarily through observation with scientific instrumentation, hence, the research is performed anywhere that observations are currently being or have been made such as at Earth, Mars, Jupiter, or in the solar wind. Fundamental plasma processes are not confined to one location in the Universe but span our solar system, galaxy, and beyond. The research is performed by analyzing theories based on the observations; modeling the observations, build instruments to make new observations, and to envision new missions/projects that can increase our knowledge of the plasma processes. For further information on LASP Space Plasma Group visit their website.

2. Earth's Magnetosphere

   Studying the dynamics of a space physics encompasses studying the solar wind and its effect on the Earth. Much of the work is focused on the changes in the particle environment (above 10KeV) as a result of the solar wind dynamics. Much of the research is to model the scientific observations using multipoint long-term (from hours to years) measurements of the local environment. The dynamics of a system are the key interest of the Magnetosphere Group (MPG). Using solar wind as input, LASP routinely carries out real-time forecast of > 2 MeV electrons at geostationary orbit and the Dst index.

3. Space Weather
   

   At LASP the influence of space on Earth, humans, and technology are of great interest. The work is focused on how to predict the status (i.e. weather) of space and to provide forecasting tools for others to use. This work is mainly performed under the CISM (Center for Integrated Space Weather Modeling) project.

4. Planetary Space Physics

Matter can be found in four different states. There are three that we are very familiar with: solid, liquid, and gas. The fourth state, plasma, is much more unfamiliar to us. The field of space physics deals with the study of solar system plasmas (gases of charged particles). Plasmas fill much of the known cosmos, and the interactions of such charged gases determine the behavior of matter within our solar-terrestrial system. But the spatial, temporal, and density scales we can explore in space are much different from those produced in earthbound laboratories. Therefore, our solar-terrestrial system - which is composed of dynamic and complex systems of moving particles, magnetic fields, and electrical currents - serves as a nearby example of what probably happens throughout our whole universe. It is a unique laboratory for investigating the natural processes that occur in nearly all astrophysics and it is a laboratory that we can reach relatively easily with rockets and spacecraft. Studies of the different space environments of planetary objects test our understanding of the underlying physical principles occurring under different situations to that found at Earth.

The Sun reaches maximum activity every 11 years or so. As it reaches the peak it expels with increasing frequency huge magnetic clouds of material (called coronal mass ejections, or CMEs) that can move outward at speeds approaching 2,000 kilometers per second. The shock waves preceding such clouds can accelerate particles to tremendous energies - sometimes more that 100 million electron volts (meV). If the CMEs and the shock waves they produce strike Earth's magnetosphere, they can cause violent geomagnetic storms that can disturb power systems, communication links, and the constellations of spacecraft of which society increasingly relies.

As our appreciation of the Sun-Earth system has grown more sophisticated, so too has our technology. Today, a tangled web of electrical and communication links has been woven across Earth's surface, while fleets of spacecraft work in the electric space above us. By using electromagnetic techniques to enhance communication, navigation, reconnaissance, and weather prediction that generally make the world safer, we have also put ourselves in danger. Every tool and gadget that relies on radio waves, conducting wires, and sensitive transistors and processing chips can be affected by disturbances in the solar-terrestrial system.

Illustration of Sun-Earth connection. When CME's blast through the Sun's outer atmosphere and plow toward Earth at speeds of thousands of miles per second, the resulting effects can be harmful to communication satellites and astronauts outside the Earth's magnetosphere. On the ground, the magnetic storm wrought by these solar particles can knock out electric power. Credit: Steele Hill/NASA

In the early years of LASP, the laboratory was involved in the Orbiting Solar Observatory (OSO) missions to explore and understand the Sun. Later programs such as the Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME) studied the interaction of the Sun with Earth's upper atmosphere. The present international space physics program represents a multi-billion dollar investment toward understanding the Sun-Earth system in unprecedented scope and detail. When these spacecraft are linked with ground-based elements and theoretical modeling tools, the combined resources provide not only a telescopic view, but also a microscopic view. This coupling of microscopic and telescopic views is crucial to understanding the physical processes - such as magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration - that drive our solar system and our near-Earth environment.

Current Missions:

• New Horizons: Studies of the solar wind interaction with Pluto's escaping atmosphere (Jan 19th, 2006 - )
• SDC: Student Dust Counter on New Horizons (Jan. 19, 2006 - )
• IMEX: Inner Magnetosphere Explorer (mid 2001 - )
• Polar - TIMAS: The Toroidal Imaging Mass-Angle Spectrograph (1996 - )
• FAST: Fast Auroral Snapshot (August 1996 - )
• SAMPEX: Solar, Anomalous, and Magnetospheric Particle Explorer (July 1992 - )

Future Missions:

• THEMIS: Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (Launch: October 2006)
• STEREO: Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (Launch: April 2006)
• Juno: studies of the space environment in Jupiter's polar regions (Launch 2010/11)
• MMS: Magnetospheric MultiScale (Launch: 2013)