Ball Aerospace to lead NASA solar-magnetism study

BROOMFIELD — Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. has been selected by NASA to manage a concept study for the space agency’s proposed Chromospheric Magnetism Explorer mission.

The CMEx mission “could provide new insights into how magnetism drives eruptive activity on and near the surface of the sun,” Ball said in a news release. “The science of CMEx aims to help the scientific community better its understanding of our sun and its impacts on space, Earth and other planets.”

Holly Gilbert, director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s High Altitude Observatory (HAO), will serve as the principal investigator for the nine-month study.

“The CMEx mission concept provides a unique opportunity to answer some of the biggest questions we still have about the sun, and it could help to mature our spectropolarimetry capabilities considerably,” Ball Aerospace senior director Lisa Wood said in the release. “We’re excited about the prospect of leading such a fascinating mission.”

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