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Space Weather: A Space Weather Plan for the Nation
Space Weather: A Research Perspective
A Space Weather Plan for the Nation
Space weather is a part of our environment in the same
sense as traditional weather. It is not limited to satellite
problems or power system failures or astronaut radiation
hazards any more than lower-atmospheric weather is
limited to the damage from tornadoes, hurricanes, or floods.
Just as weather is defined as the state of the atmosphere,
so space weather is the state of Earth-space where our
satellites, shuttles, and space stations orbit, and it is what
deep-space probes experience en route to the planets. It is
the result of the solar-terrestrial connection. It is an integral
part of the space age that is also reflected in its
consequences in the atmosphere and on the ground. Like
traditional weather, it is most noticed when it causes
problems.
Those who study space weather try to understand how the
physical system of Earth-space works. It involves efforts to
decipher how our most important star, the Sun, behaves, to
understand how the space around our planet connects to
interplanetary space, to understand the effects on Earth of
the energy that is transferred in this interaction. The results
of these studies can be used for practical purposes such as
space weather forecasting and satellite or communications
troubleshooting, but they also give us an eye-opening
perspective on our place in space. Indeed they make us
appreciate that we are all space travelers on a satellite of
the Sun called Earth, that all planets around all stars have
space weather in common, and that space weather has
figured prominently in our origins and will certainly figure in
our fate.
U.S. government agencies such as NSF, NASA, NOAA,
and the DOD (especially the Air Force and Navy) support
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Space Weather: A Space Weather Plan for the Nation
the study of space weather as a natural component of their
research programs. In doing so, they have recognized that
a space-age nation requires a broader view of Earth's
environment than perhaps was necessary before. They
have also recognized the intrinsic value to humans of
understanding our local connections to the cosmos and the
implications for understanding regions of space far from the
solar system.
In the past, both the study and applications of space
weather have not generally been coordinated across
activities and agencies. A change has occurred within the
last two years during which efforts have been initiated to
bring together the various programs and to create a
broader awareness of space weather. This collective effort
has come to be known as the National Space Weather
Program. With coordination at the management planning
level, it has begun to provide support to investigations that
lead coherently to a better understanding of space weather,
drawing upon all available resources. A major goal is to
establish a broadly based National Space Weather Service
to provide information to both the professional and the
interested layman about space weather.
The status of the National Space Weather Program is
currently in flux, with a draft implementation plan created
with the help of an advisory board of space scientists. The
plan foresees coherent research activity that ultimately is
transformed into an expert information system (e.g., for
communications and power industries, spaceflight planners
at government laboratories, satellite builders and operators,
radio amateurs) and an educational resource. Information
exchange systems such as the World Wide Web could
easily provide access, while specialized applications could
be designed for individual use off-line. The National Space
Weather Program will provide an example of how science
and technology can merge in the new millennium to bring
the fruits of the nation's research efforts to everyone.
The development of the National Space Weather Program
can be followed on the World Wide Web (at URL address
http://www.geo.nsf.gov/atm/nswp/nswp.htm).
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