TO FULLY UNDERSTAND TERRESTRIAL IMPACTS OF SOLAR ACTIVITY AND TO EVENTUALLY FORECAST THEM MUCH CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH FOCUSES ON DISENTANGLING THE FUNDAMENTAL PLASMA PHYSICS OF THE INNER HELIOSPHERE THAT GOVERNS THE EVOLUTION OF THE SOLAR WIND. HOWEVER MOST PREVIOUS IN SITU CAMPAIGNS TO OBSERVE SIMPLE SPHERICAL EXPANSION OUT FROM THE SUN (PRISTINE CONDITIONS) ON WHICH THESE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS DEPEND HAVE BEEN COMPLICATED BY THE PRESENCE OF STREAM INTERACTIONS. "STREAMS" OF SLOWER AND FASTER WIND COLLIDE AND CONTRIBUTE TO THE NET HEATING OF THE SOLAR WIND SO MEASUREMENTS TAKEN WITHIN THESE MOVING INTERACTION REGIONS ARE NOT OF PRISTINE WIND PROPERTIES. TWO OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE TO RESOLVE THIS EMPIRICAL ISSUE: DIRECTLY MEASURE PRISTINE SOLAR WIND CONDITIONS CLOSE ENOUGH TO THE SUN TO ENSURE NO STREAM INTERACTIONS ARE PRESENT OR FILTER OUT THAT NET HEATING TO ANALYTICALLY MAKE THE REQUIRED MEASUREMENTS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH SEEKS TO DEVELOP THE LATTER CAPABILITY BY ANALYZING CORRELATIONS BETWEEN TEMPERATURE AND BOTH SPEED AND ACCELERATION IN PAST DATA SETS. INITIAL WORK USING WIND MISSION DATA WILL ESTABLISH THE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE FOLLOWED BY APPLICATION TO THE HELIOS MISSION DATA TO CONFIRM THAT FINDINGS ARE PROPORTIONAL WITH RESPECT TO DISTANCE FROM THE SUN. ONCE IT HAS BEEN PROVEN EFFECTIVE THIS ANALYSIS METHOD WILL PROVIDE A NEW CAPABILITY FOR NASA TO ACCURATELY MODEL THE SPACE ENVIRONMENT THAT UPCOMING MISSIONS TO THE INNER HELIOSPHERE WILL ENCOUNTER. THIS PREDICTOR OF PRISTINE SOLAR WIND TEMPERATURE AT ARBITRARY RADIAL DISTANCE BOTH ADDS VALUE TO NASA'S SPACE WEATHER MONITORING INITIATIVES AND HAS POTENTIAL TO ENRICH THE SCIENCE RETURN OF FUTURE MISSIONS ESPECIALLY PARKER SOLAR PROBE AS IT PASSES WITHIN THE INNER LIMIT OF STREAM INTERACTIONS TO MAKE ITS GROUNDBREAKING FLIGHT THROUGH THE CORONA
$134,516FY2020National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationNASA
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