PUNCH
NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission is a constellation of four small satellites that make global, three-dimensional observations of the Sun’s corona and solar wind.
Follow this mission
Schedule, status, and mission updates. Time-based alerts will start when a time is available.
Identity
- Aliases
- Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and HeliospherePUNCH Mission
- Name
- PUNCH
- Status
- active
Details
- Astronauts
- -
- Description
- NASA’s Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH) mission is a constellation of four small satellites that make global, three-dimensional observations of the Sun’s corona and solar wind.
- Destination
- Polar, Sun-synchronous low Earth orbit at approximately 650 km altitude along the day-night terminator in dawn-dusk formation for continuous three-dimensional observations of the solar corona and solar wind
- Launch Site
- Outcome
- PUNCH's four-spacecraft observatory provides continuous three-dimensional imagery of the corona and solar wind, tracking coronal mass ejections across much of their journey toward Earth. In an initial retrospective proof-of-concept test reported in August 2026, researchers used its imagery to predict one eruption's near-Earth arrival within 30 minutes. The result was presented at a scientific meeting and remained under journal review; it demonstrates forecasting potential rather than established routine forecast accuracy.
- Programs
- Start Date
- 2025-03-12
- Vehicle Families
Links
- Official Url
- https://science.nasa.gov/mission/punch/
Assets & Meta
- Creation Time
- August 13, 2026 at 16:30:57 UTC
- Updated Time
- October 29, 2026 at 13:20:22 UTC
Other
- Affiliations
- Space Stations
- -
- Vehicles