Advancing multi-messenger heliophysics from outside the ecliptic: preparing for solar orbiter's high-latitude missionphase

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration Shared Services Center awarded the University of California, Los Angeles $249,789 on January 1, 2026, under the Science program (CFDA 43.001) to advance multi-messenger heliophysics from outside the ecliptic in preparation for Solar Orbiter's high-latitude mission phase.

The award funds research utilizing Solar Orbiter's out-of-the-ecliptic orbital configurations in conjunction with global coronal-heliospheric magnetohydrodynamic modeling constrained by multi-viewpoint, multi-spacecraft remote-sensing and in-situ observations. The research addresses three science objectives: characterizing the coronal magnetic field's influence on large-scale solar transients and coronal mass ejection eruptions from high-latitude source regions; identifying and characterizing coronal source regions of Solar Orbiter's out-of-ecliptic in-situ solar wind; and formulating and developing multi-instrument Solar Orbiter Observation Plans for the first two objectives.

The period of performance runs through December 31, 2026, with work performed in Los Angeles, California. Predictive Science Incorporated, a San Diego-based for-profit research organization specializing in space weather and heliophysics modeling, serves as a sub-recipient, contributing computational modeling and scientific analysis in support of the coronal-heliospheric research objectives.