NASA’s PUNCH mission just took a big step forward with the first images from its solar-observing instruments, revealing the outer atmosphere of the Sun like never before.
As the four-satellite constellation begins its journey, scientists are preparing to unlock new insights into the mysterious transformation of the Sun’s corona into solar wind — an invisible force that affects Earth in dramatic ways, from disrupting satellites to knocking out power grids.
First Glimpse of the Corona
On April 14, the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Narrow Field Imager (NFI) captured its first light — an initial set of images offering an early glimpse of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, known as the corona. This milestone came as part of NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission, which opened two of its four instrument doors in space for the first time.
Two days later, on April 16, the remaining instruments — called Wide Field Imagers (WFI) — also opened and began capturing images.
These first images from NFI are being used to calibrate the instrument and confirm its pointing accuracy. The image was filtered to highlight the star field around the Sun, with a portion of the Pisces constellation visible. The Sun itself is blocked by an occulter — a disk that covers the bright center to reveal the faint corona — leaving a glowing ring in the middle of the image.
Deployment of the PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission’s four satellites has occurred on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Following a 90-day commissioning period, the PUNCH mission is scheduled to conduct science for at least two years. Credit: NASA
Launched Aboard SpaceX Falcon 9
The PUNCH mission launched on March 11 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with NFI separating from the rocket the following day. PUNCH is made up of four satellites orbiting Earth that will work together to create 3D, global observations of the inner heliosphere. The goal is to study how the solar corona evolves and becomes the solar wind, the constant stream of charged particles flowing through space.
Launched on March 11 into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the NFI deployed from Falcon 9 on March 12. PUNCH is a four-satellite constellation, collecting observations in low Earth orbit. It will conduct global, 3D observations of the inner heliosphere to investigate the solar corona’s evolution into the solar wind.
The NRL-developed NFI, sponsored by NASA, is a compact, externally occulted coronagraph. The external occulter blocks direct sunlight from entering the main optical aperture, which views the corona and starfield around the Sun using a compound lens system. Polarization is resolved using a polarizing filter wheel and the image is digitized using a CCD camera with a 2K x 2K active detector area.
A Major Milestone for Solar Science
“We are thrilled to see these first light images from NFI,” said NRL Coronal and Heliospheric Physics Section Head Robin Colaninno, Ph.D. “This is a major milestone for the PUNCH mission and a testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire team. We are eager to begin using NFI to study the Sun’s corona in unprecedented detail and learn more about how the solar wind is generated.”
Over the next few weeks, the PUNCH team will refine the spacecraft’s pointing and calibrate the NFI to reduce stray light. Once this process is complete, the NFI will be able to capture detailed images of the Sun’s corona, similar to those taken by its predecessor, the NRL-developed Compact Coronagraph (CCOR-1).
Watching Solar Storms Unfold
By capturing the evolution of coronal mass ejections (CMEs), PUNCH will provide scientists new data on their formation and propagation. This is essential for understanding and predicting these events, which can cause significant disruptions on Earth, including satellite damage, radio communication blackouts, and power grid failures. Enhanced predictions will also safeguard robotic explorers operating in interplanetary space.
PUNCH is currently in a 90-day commissioning phase, during which time the four spacecraft will be maneuvered into their final orbital configuration and the instruments will be calibrated. Following commissioning, PUNCH will begin its two-year primary science mission.
The PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere) mission is a NASA-led effort to study how the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, transitions into the solar wind—the continuous stream of charged particles that flows through the solar system and affects space weather. Comprised of four small satellites working in unison from low Earth orbit, PUNCH creates 3D, wide-field images of the corona and inner heliosphere. Its goal is to better understand phenomena like coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and improve our ability to predict solar storms that can disrupt satellites, communications, and power grids on Earth. Launched in 2025, PUNCH represents a new kind of solar observatory that captures the dynamic, evolving space between the Sun and Earth.
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1 Comment
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