Launches
NASA space weather probes en route to Lagrange 1 observation point
Once in position at the 'orbital parking spot,' the space weather missions will deliver data to deepen understanding and protect people and systems.
![NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory separates from Space X's Falcon 9 rocket on the second state of its journey to Lagrange point 1 on September 24. [Screenshot from NASA video]](/gc8/images/2025/10/06/52193-carruthers-separates-rocket-370_237.webp)
By BlueShift |
The United States has launched three spacecraft that will together improve the monitoring of space weather such as solar storms, which can interfere with technology and power systems on Earth.
The Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP), Space Weather Follow-on (SWFO-L1) and Carruthers Geocorona Observatory lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on September 24 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The three probes are now on the more than 100-day journey to the Lagrange 1 (L1) point -- an "orbital parking spot" approximately 1.5 million km from the sun, per the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Observation Service.
L1 is a neutral gravity point that enables spacecraft to operate in a non-planar halo orbit, remaining in line between the sun and Earth at all times and providing an uninterrupted view of the sun.
![This illustration shows the NOAA Deep Space Climate Observatory in position at Lagrange 1 point. The observatory is operating past its original life expectancy and is expected to leave service in 2026. [NASA]](/gc8/images/2025/10/06/52194-L1-illustration-space-370_237.webp)
The five Lagrange points, named after 18th-century mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange, are points of equilibrium between the combined gravitational forces of two large objects, in this case the sun and Earth.
The IMAP observatory will reach L1 in January. Once in position, its 10 science instruments will study the sun's high-energy particles and the heliosphere, the vast bubble of charged particles surrounding the solar system.
It will provide data that can offer insight into space weather, including cosmic radiation, solar wind, energetic particles, and solar storms caused by flares on the sun's surface that are difficult to predict.
Solar storms can impact aviation, mobile communications and power grids on Earth and can potentially endanger astronauts and satellites in space.
"IMAP can provide a roughly 30-minute warning of incoming radiation for astronauts and spacecraft," according to NASA.
"This is important as NASA prepares for its Artemis II mission around the moon in early 2026 and future human flights to Mars."
'Watchful eye on the sun'
The SWFO-L1 probe, operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will monitor the sun's activity and measure the solar wind using a compact coronagraph and a suite of other instruments.
"SWFO-L1 will keep a watchful eye on the sun and near-Earth environment for space weather activity," according to the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Observation Service.
The SWFO-L1 observatory is the first NOAA satellite dedicated to continuous, operational space weather observations, and will provide a continuous stream of data to NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
It will allow the decommissioning of aging legacy satellites that are operating beyond intended design life and with limited fuel, according to NASA.
The observatory will serve as "an early warning beacon, helping provide protection to key assets and industries including the electric power grid, aviation, and satellites from space weather," the agency said.
The third probe, NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, will study the Earth's exosphere -- the atmosphere's outermost layer -- to better understand how space weather affects it.
It will be the first NASA small satellite (SmallSat) to operate at L1 and to provide continuous exospheric observations from this vantage point.
Slated to begin its work in March, it will send data back to Earth two times a week through the Deep Space Network, enabling scientists to create a 3D structure of the exosphere to study.
Named in honor of ultraviolet instrumentation and space science pioneer George Carruthers, the mission is planned for at least two years, but the spacecraft carries enough fuel to operate for 10 years or longer.