April Meeting

Social hour at 18:00, meeting at 19:00. Speaker: Angela Dorsey Subject: The SunRISE mission, or Sun RadioInterometer Space Experiment, involves six CubeSats designed to study solar activity and its impact on space weather, with launch planned for mid-2025 Angela is an aerospace Engineer at NASA's JPL in Pasadena, California. She received her BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Alabama and a PhD in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She works on high-precision, space-borne Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers for scientific applications. She has been working on various spaceflight projects at JPL for over 26 years. Mission Overview The SunRISE mission aims to enhance our understanding og solar activity, particularly how the Sun generates intense space weather storms known as solar particle storms. These storms can pose significant risks to spacecraft and astronauts. The mission will utilize an array of six toaster-sized CubeSats that will work together to observe low-frequency radio emissions from the Sun. Scientific Goals 1. Understanding Solar Bursts: SunRISE will investigate the mechanisms behind solar bursts and their relationship with coronal mass ejections (CME's). This includes studying how solar energetic particles (SEP's) are accelerated and the correlation between Type II radio emissions and SEP's. 2. Mapping Magnetic Fields: The mission will also focus on reconstructing magneticfield lines associated with solar activity, which is crucial for understanding the Sun's behavior and its effects on the solar system.