NASA’s Solar Radio Waves Study

NASA’s CubeSat Radio Interferometry Experiment, known as CURIE, is set to launch on July 9, 2024. This mission will explore the mysterious origins of radio waves emanating from the Sun.

CURIE will investigate the source of solar radio waves during coronal mass ejections (CMEs) like the one captured in the image by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory. CMEs, large eruptions on the Sun, are key drivers of space weather and can affect satellite communications and technology on Earth. Despite extensive research, scientists have yet to pinpoint where within a CME these radio waves originate.

The CURIE mission will employ a pioneering technique called low-frequency radio interferometry, which has never been used in space before. This method involves two independent spacecraft, each no larger than a shoebox, orbiting Earth approximately two miles apart. By measuring slight differences in the arrival times of radio waves at each spacecraft, CURIE’s instruments can accurately determine the radio waves’ origin.

“This is a very ambitious and very exciting mission,” said Principal Investigator David Sundkvist, a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. “This is the first time that someone is ever flying a radio interferometer in space in a controlled way, and so it’s a pathfinder for radio astronomy in general.”

The CURIE spacecraft, developed by a team from UC Berkeley, will detect radio waves in the 0.1 to 19 megahertz range, frequencies that Earth’s upper atmosphere blocks. Therefore, this research must be conducted from space.

The mission will launch aboard an ESA (European Space Agency) Ariane 6 rocket from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. The rocket will carry CURIE to an altitude of 360 miles above Earth, providing an unobstructed view of the Sun’s radio emissions.

Once in orbit, the two CURIE spacecraft will communicate with ground stations, orient themselves, and then separate. Each spacecraft will deploy an eight-foot antenna to collect data.

CURIE is sponsored by NASA’s Heliophysics Flight Opportunities for Research and Technology (H-FORT) Program and is the primary mission on the NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative’s ELaNa (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) 43 mission. As a pathfinder, CURIE will demonstrate the feasibility of space-based radio interferometry using CubeSats. This mission will also lay the groundwork for the forthcoming Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE), which will use six CubeSats to map the region where solar radio waves originate in 2-D.

This innovative mission aims to deepen our understanding of solar radio waves and their origins, offering valuable insights into space weather and its potential impact on our technology. By pioneering new techniques and proving the capabilities of small satellites, CURIE will pave the way for future advancements in space-based radio astronomy.

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