The mission demonstrates system-wide solar activity, showing solar wind interactions with the Moon, planets, and passing comets to broaden perspective on space weather.

NASA's PUNCH mission is a four-spacecraft SwRI-led observatory that operates as a single virtual instrument to image the Sun and monitor space weather as it travels through the inner solar system.

The quartet provides wide-field imaging of the Sun's outer atmosphere as it becomes the solar wind and interacts with objects across the inner solar system.

Since its March launch, the four spacecraft have delivered high-resolution views of the Sun's outer atmosphere and solar wind, enabling detailed observations of coronal mass ejections and their effects on Earth.

Beyond CMEs, PUNCH has tracked comets such as 3I/ATLAS and monitored Comet SWAN for nearly 40 days, while also observing Comet Lemmon during its close approach to Earth.

The project team highlights the long-duration observations, including continuously imaging Comet SWAN every four minutes for about 40 days and tracking interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS through the inner solar system.

Three of the four spacecraft carry Wide Field Imagers that capture CMEs in unprecedented detail, while the fourth carries a Narrow Field Imager, with all data integrated into comprehensive products.

Data from the Wide Field Imagers and the Naval Research Laboratory’s Narrow Field Imager are combined to provide fuller analysis of CMEs and space weather.

SwRI leads the mission from Boulder, Colorado, with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center managing mission aspects for the Explorer program.

The mission underscores the importance of space weather forecasting to protect astronauts, satellites, and the electric grid, with collaboration across SwRI and NASA's Explorers Program Office.

Since launch, the four small spacecraft operate as an 8,000-mile-spanning instrument, offering continuous coverage of CMEs as they progress toward Earth.

PUNCH provides unprecedented visualizations of CMEs and the solar wind as a connected system, aiding understanding and forecasting to mitigate risks to space assets.