Scientific Goals and Missions - NAOJ SOLAR-C Project Office

Purpose

The NAOJ SOLAR-C Project Office participates in and contributes to the SOLAR-C mission of JAXA/ISAS, aiming to explore key propositions in space science of how the plasma universe is created and evolves, and how the Sun influences the Earth, other interplanetary objects and the heliosphere.

Missions

The missions of this project are:

1. to contribute to the development of the EUVST (a high-throughput EUV spectroscopic telescope) and the functional and performance verifications of the telescope for the SOLAR-C mission of JAXA/ISAS; and
2. to provide the scientific community with high-quality spectroscopic imaging data which enable to track and grasp dynamic solar plasma phenomena in the chromosphere (2×10⁴ K) through the corona (1-20×10⁶ K) thanks to advanced capabilities of seamless entire temperature coverage and about ten times higher spatial and temporal resolution than ever, under the leadership of JAXA/ISAS.

The mission completion shall be confirmed at the end of the SOLAR-C initial operation in orbit.

Primary Scientific Goals

The primary scientific goals of this project are:

1. to understand how fundamental processes lead to the formation of the solar high-temperature atmosphere and the solar wind; and
2. to understand how the solar atmosphere becomes unstable, releasing the energy that drives solar flares and eruptions.

These goals have been defined at the Mission Definition Review (MOR) of JAXA/ISAS.

Target Date

End of March 2028