The recommendation, made during the committee's June meeting at the Instituto Astrofísico de Canarias in Tenerife, is expected to be formally confirmed in November. In practice, the decision gives the green light to the mission, which is scheduled for launch in 2037.

The Plasma Observatory aims to answer one of the fundamental questions in space plasma physics: how plasma is energised and how energy is transported in the near-Earth environment. Scientists will study how the solar wind—a stream of charged particles emitted by the Sun—interacts with the magnetosphere, the magnetic "bubble" that shields Earth from much of the solar wind.

The findings are expected to improve understanding of space weather, which can affect satellites, power grids and radio communications, while also shedding light on plasma processes around other stars, in supernova remnants and in distant galaxies.

The mission will consist of a constellation of seven identical satellites operating in an elliptical orbit around Earth's equator at distances ranging from about eight to 17 Earth radii, or approximately 51,000 to 108,400 kilometres. The spacecraft will pass through key regions of the magnetosphere, including the sunward side where the solar wind collides with Earth's magnetic field and the night side, where magnetic field lines stretch into a long tail.

Researchers from the Department of Plasma Physics at the Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Sciences will help develop the mission's scientific objectives, measurement concepts and models of the space environment. Polish engineers and scientists are also co-developing the mission's scientific instruments and coordinating work on the overall research system.

Each satellite will carry two sets of scientific instruments. The BOX-P (Particles and Fields Instrument), overseen by the Space Research Centre under the leadership of Professor Hanna Rothkaehl, is integrated with the spacecraft's onboard systems. The BOX-W (Waves) instrument package is managed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Uppsala, with the Polish team providing the EFI-ADA (Electric Field Instrument – Axial Dipole Antenna), along with its power module and mechanical structure. Marek Morawski serves as Instrument Lead Scientist for EFI-ADA.

"This is an incredible joy and satisfaction for us. Our dreams, which we have been working on for the last decades, have come true. This will be a breakthrough mission that will allow us to learn not only about the processes taking place in the Solar System, but also understand and describe the basic principles of physics, such as reconnection (the phenomenon of rapid change of the magnetic field lines - ed. PAP). This is the first step on the way to multi-point and multi-instrumental diagnostics of the space environment," comments Professor Hanna Rothkaehl, quoted in the release.

The Plasma Observatory was selected over two other finalists for ESA's seventh medium-class (M7) mission competition: M-Matisse, focused on Mars exploration, and Theseus, which would have studied high-energy radiation sources. (PAP)

PAP - Science in Poland

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