NASA’s new solar investigator mission, named PUNCH, has successfully captured its first-light images of the sun. The mission consists of four small satellites designed to work together as a single instrument to decode some of the sun’s biggest mysteries.
The initial images show stars and constellations visible against a soft amber haze, known as the zodiacal light. However, the ultimate goal of PUNCH is to isolate features within the solar wind without any interference like background stars or zodiacal light. To achieve this, the team is calibrating data to remove most of the light and preserve the faint glimmer of the solar wind.
The first-light images prove that the instruments are usable and working as designed. The mission’s 90-day commissioning period will focus on demonstrating new “water-powered” rocket engines, which work by passing an electric current through water to create high-pressure hydrogen and oxygen.
Once the commissioning phase is complete, scientists expect to see scientific information pouring out this summer. Data analysis will begin in June, and researchers aim to unlock some of the sun’s deepest secrets using advanced techniques like polarization measurement.
Source: https://www.space.com/the-universe/sun/nasas-sun-studying-punch-mission-captures-its-1st-light-images-everything-looks-great-so-far