The overall objective of the STEREO mission is to obtain the necessary measurement and observations to develop an understanding of the fundamental nature and origin of coronal mass ejections - the most energetic eruptions on the sun and primary cause of major geomagnetic storms. The mission will use stereoscopic vision to construct a global picture of the sun and its influences.
STEREO's specific science objectives are to: |
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Artist's concept of the twin STEREO observatories
studying the sun. |
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Understand the causes and mechanisms triggering coronal mass ejections; |
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Characterize the propagation of coronal mass ejections through the heliosphere; |
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Discover the mechanisms and sites of energetic particle acceleration in the low corona and the interplanetary medium; and |
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Develop a 3-D, time-dependent model of the magnetic topology, temperature, density and velocity structure of the ambient solar wind. |
NASA's Solar Terrestrial Probes Program Office, located at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the STEREO mission, instruments and science center. APL designed and built the spacecraft and are operating them for NASA from the mission operations center located on APL's Laurel, Md., campus.
To view images acquired by STEREO's instruments, please visit http://stereo-ssc.nascom.nasa.gov/. |
