![\"Artist\u2019s](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/daphne-concept-artwork-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>NASA selected a mission concept to research how space weather and dynamics within Earth\u2019s atmosphere influence the space environment and help improve prediction capabilities for impacts on crucial technology, such as GPS and low Earth orbit satellites, as well as astronauts in space.<\/p>\n
The DAPHNE (Dynamic Atmosphere-Ionosphere Explorer) mission will enter Phase B<\/a> of development, which includes planning and design for flight and mission operations. It will use identical twin satellites to study how changes in Earth\u2019s lower atmosphere influence our planet\u2019s upper atmosphere, where space weather is manifested.<\/p>\n \u201cNASA is advancing the United States\u2019 leadership as a space weather-ready nation, and by providing new insights into Earth\u2019s atmosphere we can better predict and prepare for impacts in our daily lives on Earth and in space,\u201d said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cAs NASA sends astronauts beyond Earth\u2019s magnetic protection to the Moon, Mars, and beyond, DAPHNE will join the NASA science fleet strategically located across the solar system to provide data that will help mission planners predict and mitigate the effects of space weather for the benefit of all.\u201d<\/p>\n The DAPHNE mission\u2019s low-risk high-return concept will provide coordinated, multi-point measurements of neutral winds, temperature, and composition in the thermosphere. The ionosphere and thermosphere regions are where Earth\u2019s neutral atmosphere transitions into the ionized plasma of space. In this thin shell that surrounds the planet, the atmosphere is in constant motion, shaped by the influence of solar activity and changes in the lower atmosphere and in near-Earth space.<\/p>\n Fundamental observations and physical insights from the DAPHNE mission will incorporate lower-atmospheric energy data to advance space weather predictive capabilities. The mission is led by Aimee Merkel from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, Boulder.<\/p>\n The mission will be subject to a confirmation review in 2027, which will assess the progress of the mission and the availability of funds. If confirmed, the total estimated cost of the mission, excluding launch, will not exceed $250 million in fiscal year 2023 dollars, with a mission launch date of no earlier than 2029.<\/p>\n The DAPHNE mission was proposed as a concept study in response to the DYNAMIC (Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling) mission announcement of opportunity. Funding and management oversight for this mission is provided by the Solar Terrestrial Probes program at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.<\/p>\n For more information on NASA\u2019s heliophysics missions, visit:<\/p>\n https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/heliophysics<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n -end-<\/p>\n Abbey Interrante \/ Karen Fox
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
abbey.a.interrante@nasa.gov<\/a> \/ karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\nShare<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n