Category: news

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) Facility for Laboratory Reconnection Experiments (FLARE) is advancing its capabilities through the NASA Heliophysics Technology (HESTO) Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science (H-TIDeS) program. The FLARE facility is adding soft X-ray tomography, electron energy analyzers, and sophisticated Artificial Intelligence (AI) models to enable non-invasive mapping of superheated plasma …

Read more “NASA, DOE, and Princeton: Combining Forces to Safeguard the US Power Grid and More”

The Mini Magnetometer (MiniMag), developed by a team at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado, is a highly compact, single-sensor magnetometer using the Faraday effect to measure a broad range of magnetic fields – from static direct current to high-frequency alternating current. This new instrument concept combines capabilities …

Read more “MiniMag: Big Opportunities in a Small Package”

HESTO has successfully developed and deployed its new Automated Data Pipeline, a Python-based portfolio data parsing pipeline that will eliminate manual compilation of program metrics. Shaun Hoffman, the HESTO summer intern who developed HESTO’s new Automated Data Pipeline, presented a poster on his work at the capstone poster session at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on …

Read more “Automated Data Pipeline Revolutionizes HESTO Portfolio Reporting”

The Autonomous Ion Mass Spectrometer Sentry (AIMSS) team at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) celebrated the launch of their payload to the International Space Station (ISS) on May 15, 2026. AIMSS was launched as a part of the Department of War (DoW) Space Test Program Houston-11 (STP-H11) mission on SpaceX’s Dragon’s 34th Commercial Resupply Services …

Read more “AIMSS: Shaping a More Secure Space Environment”

The Lightsheet Anomaly Resolution and Debris Observation – Neuromorphic (LARADO-N) mission, led by Andrew Nicholas from the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), successfully launched from Space Launch Complex 8 at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on April 7, 2026, aboard Space Test Program S29A (STP-S29A) on a Northrop Grumman Minotaur IV rocket. LARADO-N (22 …

Read more “LARADO-N: Tracking Dangerous Space Debris”

A new National Academies report establishes searching for evidence of existing or past life on Mars as the top science priority for the first human mission to the red planet, alongside 10 other key objectives that include critical space physics priorities such as characterizing radiation at key locations in crew habitats and sampling sites, determining …

Read more “New National Academies Report released on A Science Strategy for Human Exploration of Mars”

A NASA-sponsored team at the University of Iowa (UI) is restoring and advancing the nation’s capability to make high-fidelity magnetic field measurements needed to investigate space weather that can impact our communication and power grids on Earth and our assets in space. Project Lead(s): Dr. David Miles, University of Iowa Originally published on NASA SMD

The project of our PI, Dr. Mark Moldwin, was featured as a NASA SMD highlight!

We are thrilled to present our 2024 Heliophysics Technology Annual Report, showcasing HESTO’s pivotal investments in advancing Heliophysics technology. This report includes the results of our Heliophysics Technology and Instrument Development for Science (H-TIDeS) and Heliophysics Flight Opportunities Studies (H-FOS) programs. We are also pleased to introduce the recipients of our 2024 awards, who will …

Read more “2024 Annual Heliophysics Technology Report Released!”