SPACE/COSMOS
NASA, NOAA Launch Three Spacecraft To Map Sun’s Influence Across Space
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) missions launches from the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. Credit: NASA
NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched three new missions Wednesday to investigate the Sun’s influence across the solar system.
At 7:30 a.m. EDT, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying the agency’s IMAP (Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe), Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and NOAA’s SWFO-L1 (Space Weather Follow On-Lagrange 1) spacecraft.
“This successful launch advances the space weather readiness of our nation to better protect our satellites, interplanetary missions, and space-faring astronauts from the dangers of space weather throughout the solar system,” said acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, “This insight will be critical as we prepare for future missions to the Moon and Mars in our endeavor to keep America first in space.”
These missions will help safeguard both our ground-based technology, as well as our human and robotic space explorers from the harsh conditions known of space weather.
“As the United States prepares to send humans back to the Moon and onward to Mars, NASA and NOAA are providing the ultimate interplanetary survival guide to support humanity’s epic journey along the way,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Our scientific discoveries and technical innovations directly feed into our know-before-you-go roadmap to ensure a prepared, safe, and sustained human presence on other worlds.”
New science to protect society
Each mission will investigate different effects of space weather and the solar wind, which is a continuous stream of particles emitted by the Sun, from their origins at the Sun all the way outward to interstellar space.
“These three unique missions will help us get to know our Sun and its effects on Earth better than ever before,” said Joe Westlake, Heliophysics Division director at NASA Headquarters. “This knowledge is critical because the Sun’s activity directly impacts our daily lives, from power grids to GPS. These missions will help us ensure the safety and resilience of our interconnected world.”
The IMAP mission will chart the boundary of the heliosphere, a bubble inflated by the solar wind that shields our solar system from galactic cosmic rays — a key protection that helps make our planet habitable. In addition, the spacecraft will sample and measure solar wind particles streaming outward from the Sun, as well as energetic particles streaming inward from the boundary of our solar system and beyond.
“IMAP will help us better understand how the space environment can harm us and our technologies, and discover the science of our solar neighborhood,” said David McComas, IMAP mission principal investigator at Princeton University in New Jersey.
The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is the first mission dedicated to recording changes in the outermost layer of our atmosphere, the exosphere, which plays an important role in Earth’s response to space weather. By studying the geocorona — the ultraviolet glow given off by the exosphere when sunlight shines on it — the Carruthers mission will reveal how the exosphere responds to solar storms and how it changes with the seasons. The mission builds on the legacy of the first instrument to image the geocorona, which flew to the Moon aboard Apollo 16 and was built and designed by scientist, inventor, engineer, and educator Dr. George Carruthers.
“The Carruthers mission will show us how the exosphere works and will help improve our ability to predict the impacts of solar activity here on Earth,” said Lara Waldrop, the mission’s principal investigator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The first of its kind, NOAA’s SWFO-L1 is designed to be a full-time operational space weather observatory. By keeping a watchful eye on the Sun’s activity and space conditions near Earth 24/7, and without interruption or obstruction, SWFO-L1 will provide quicker and more accurate space weather forecasts than ever before.
“This is the first of a new generation of NOAA space weather observatories dedicated to 24/7 operations, working to avoid gaps in continuity. Real-time observations from SWFO-L1 will give operators the trusted data necessary to issue advance warnings so that decision-makers can take early action to protect vital infrastructure, economic interests, and national security on Earth and in space. It’s about safeguarding society against space weather hazards,” said Richard Ullman, deputy director of the Office of Space Weather Observations at NOAA.
Next steps
In the hours after launch, all three spacecraft successfully deployed from the rocket and sent signals to Earth to confirm they’re active and working well.
Over the next few months, the spacecraft will make their way to their destination — a location between Earth and the Sun, about a million miles from Earth, called Lagrange point 1 (L1). They should arrive by January and, once their instrument checkouts and calibrations are complete, begin their missions to better understand space weather and protect humanity.
David McComas of Princeton University leads the IMAP mission with an international team of 27 partner institutions. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, built the spacecraft and will operate the mission.
The Carruthers Geocorona Observatory mission is led by Lara Waldrop from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Mission implementation is led by the Space Sciences Laboratory at University of California, Berkeley, which also designed and built the two ultraviolet imagers. BAE Systems designed and built the Carruthers spacecraft.
The Explorers and Heliophysics Projects Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the IMAP and Carruthers Geocorona Observatory missions for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.
The SWFO-L1 mission is managed by NOAA and developed with NASA Goddard, and commercial partners. NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, manages the launch service for the missions.
Eurasia Review
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Dwarf galaxies linked by massive intergalactic gas bridge
Astronomers have made a groundbreaking discovery of a colossal bridge of neutral hydrogen gas linking two dwarf galaxies
image:
Caption: (Left) Radio galaxy image of neutral hydrogen in and around the NGC 4532 / DDO 137 using ASKAP. (RIGHT) An optical image of the galaxy from the Legacy Surveys.
view moreCredit: Credit: ICRAR and D.Lang (Perimeter Institute).
Journal
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Method of Research
Meta-analysis
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
WALLABY pilot survey: the extensive interaction of NGC 4532 and DDO 137 with the Virgo cluster
Article Publication Date
23-Sep-2025
NGC_4532_and_DDO_137_video.mp4 [VIDEO]
A rotating pseudo-three-dimensional visualisation of the interacting system of NGC 4532 and DDO 137. A faint bridge of gas extends between the two galaxies.
Astronomers find 'bridge' of gas between galaxies [VIDEO]
Professor Lister Staveley-Smith explains the discovery of a bridge of gas between two galaxies
An image of the diffuse hydrogen emission seen by ASKAP overlaid with an optical image of the region.
Credit
ICRAR, N. Deg, Legacy Surveys (D.Lang / Perimeter Institute).
Caption
CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope on Wajarri Yamaji Country.
Credit
Alex Cherney/CSIRO
HKU researcher and collaborators detect first “heartbeat” of a newborn neutron star in distant cosmic explosion
The University of Hong Kong
image:
An artistic illustration of the magnetar and the gamma-ray burst jet in this work (Illustration: Yuja Tian and Yuting Wu, Nanjing Zhijiao Cloud Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.; Scientific concept guidance: Runchao Chen and Binbin Zhang, Nanjing University).
view moreCredit: Illustration: Yuja Tian and Yuting Wu, Nanjing Zhijiao Cloud Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.; Scientific concept guidance: Runchao Chen and Binbin Zhang, Nanjing University
A discovery involving researchers at The University of Hong Kong (HKU) has, for the first time, unveiled millisecond pulsations hidden within a powerful cosmic explosion known as a gamma-ray burst (GRB).
A collaboration among HKU, Nanjing University, and the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) detected a brief but highly coherent oscillation in the GRB designated GRB 230307A on 7 March 2023. The signal, spinning nearly a thousand times per second, points to the birth of a “millisecond magnetar”—a rapidly rotating neutron star with an ultra-strong magnetic field. The findings have recently been published in Nature Astronomy, marking a milestone in astrophysics and providing the clearest evidence yet that magnetars can power some of the most luminous explosions in the universe.
Deciphering the “Heartbeat”
Gamma-ray bursts are the brightest explosions known, briefly outshining the entire gamma-ray sky. They are triggered when compact stars—such as neutron stars—collide and merge, or when massive stars collapse, leaving behind exotic remnants. For decades, scientists have debated whether these remnants collapse immediately into black holes or survive as highly magnetized neutron stars.
GRB 230307A detected by China’s GECAM satellites (B and C) and NASA’s Fermi satellite (GBM), was the second brightest GRB ever recorded. Optical follow-up observations confirmed that it originated from a compact star merger. Yet its unusually long, one-minute duration defied standard expectations, which predict less than two seconds of emission from such events.
“This event gave us a rare opportunity,” said Professor Bing ZHANG, Chair Professor of the Department of Physics at HKU and co-corresponding author of the study. “By uncovering its hidden ‘heartbeat’, we can finally say with confidence that some GRBs are powered not by black holes, but by newborn magnetars.”
The research team sifted through more than 600,000 datasets collected by the GECAM satellites—dedicated gamma-ray detectors designed and launched by the Institute of High Energy Physics (CAS) in Beijing. The analysis, led by Nanjing University, revealed a striking 909-Hz quasi-periodic oscillation (QPO) lasting just 160 milliseconds.
“This is the first time humanity has directly observed a periodic signal from a millisecond magnetar inside a gamma-ray burst,” said PhD student Run-Chao CHEN of Nanjing University, the paper’s first author. “It is like hearing the first heartbeat of a newborn star.”
The detection was independently confirmed using data from GECAM-B, GECAM-C, and NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor, cementing its astrophysical origin.
Why So Brief?
The fleeting pulse raised new questions. HKU Professor Zhang offered a theoretical explanation, “The magnetar’s rapid spin imprints a periodic signal onto the gamma-ray jet through its magnetic field. However, because the jet evolves quickly, this signal appears only when the emission briefly becomes asymmetric. For just 160 milliseconds, the heartbeat was visible before the jet’s symmetry hid it again.”
This interpretation suggests that GRB 230307A was powered by a Poynting-flux dominated jet—a stream of energy driven primarily by magnetic fields rather than matter. Both the millisecond magnetar and magnetized jet concepts were proposed by Professor Zhang more than a decade ago. This “heartbeat” detection provides the strongest evidence yet linking theory to observation.
Research Impact
Until now, GRB central engines could only be inferred indirectly from afterglow modeling or theoretical assumptions. This study provides the first direct observational imprint of a magnetar’s spin in a gamma-ray burst.
“This discovery transforms our understanding of the most extreme explosions in the cosmos,” Professor Zhang emphasized. “It shows that newly born magnetars can survive compact star mergers and act as powerful cosmic engines. This opens a new frontier in multimessenger astronomy, linking gamma rays, gravitational waves, and the physics of compact stars.”
The team plans to search for similar pulsations in other bright GRBs. Each detection will bring astronomers closer to understanding the life and death of compact stars, the role of magnetars in cosmic evolution, and the origins of extreme astrophysical phenomena.
“As more advanced space observatories come online, we expect to uncover more of these fleeting signals,” Professor Zhang said. “Each one will be a heartbeat from the depths of space, telling us the story of the mysterious universe under the most extreme conditions imaginable.”
The research was carried out jointly by HKU, Nanjing University, and the Institute of High Energy Physics, CAS. Professors Bin-Bin Zhang (Nanjing University) and Shao-Lin Xiong (CAS) are co-corresponding authors alongside HKU’s Professor Bing Zhang. The project received support from the China Ministry of Science and Technology’s Key R&D Program, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the China Space Station Program, and Jiangsu Province Innovation Programs. The GECAM satellite mission was developed under the Strategic Pioneer Program on Space Science (Phase II) of CAS.
The journal paper can be accessed from here: http://doi.org/10.1038/s41550-025-02649-w
For media enquiries, please contact HKU Faculty of Science (tel: 852-3917 4948/ 3917 5286 ; email: caseyto@hku.hk / cindycst@hku.hk ).
Images download and captions: https://www.scifac.hku.hk/press
Journal
Nature Astronomy
Method of Research
Observational study
Subject of Research
Not applicable
Article Title
Evidence for a brief appearance of gamma-ray periodicity after a compact star merger
Article Publication Date
19-Sep-2025
Motion of planet-forming spirals captured on video
The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) has captured the motion of spirals of dust around a young star and shown that the winding motion of the spiral pattern is conducive to planet formation. This provides new evidence for planet formation around this young star. The results could have implications for other young stars as well.
Observations have revealed a spiral pattern in the disk of gas and dust around the young star IM Lup located 515 light-years away in the direction of the constellation Lupus. Spiral patterns are thought to be one of the signs that a new planet will form soon, but other things, such as an already formed planet, can also form spirals. These different types of spirals cannot be distinguished by visual inspection, but they are expected to move differently over time.
To determine the origin of the spirals around IM Lup, an international research team led by Tomohiro Yoshida, a graduate student at The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, SOKENDAI and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), created a stop-motion animation of the spiral pattern using four observations taken by ALMA over the course of seven years. The motion of the spirals in the stop-motion animation shows that they were not caused by an already formed planet, and instead the spirals might be helping to form a new planet.
Tomohiro Yoshida says, “When I saw the outcome of the analysis —the dynamic visualization of the spiral in motion— I screamed with excitement. This achievement was made possible by the long-term, stable operations of the ALMA telescope, which demonstrates the world’s highest performance. In the future, we plan to conduct similar observations on other protoplanetary disks to create a documentary of the entire planetary system formation process.”
Journal
Nature Astronomy
Method of Research
Observational study
Article Title
Winding Motion of Spirals in a Gravitationally Unstable Protoplanetary Disk
Article Publication Date
24-Sep-2025
World leaders gathered in New York are putting climate action under the spotlight, using this week’s UN summit to lay the groundwork for November's Cop30 meeting in Brazil. REUTERS - Eduardo Munoz
Supporters of Peter Mutharika, 85, and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took to the streets in celebration © Amos GUMULIRA / AFP
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YouTube's move to reinstate users previously banned for misinformation marks a victory for Donald Trump's conservative allies 
