Heliophysics era Wall Art

Heliophysics era — 2 museum-grade prints from the period. WIND launched 1 November 1994 as part of the International Solar-Terrestrial Physics program, carrying eight instruments to study solar wind plasma and Earth's magnetosphere from L1 halo orbits and periodic Earth flybys. A NASA–France–Russia partnership, WIND has operated for more than thirty years alongside ACE, making it one of the longest-running heliophysics missions. The Advanced Composition Explorer launched 25 August 1997 on a Delta II 7920 and reached the Sun–Earth L1 point within three months, becoming the primary upstream solar wind monitor for Earth. ACE provides roughly one hour of advance warning before geomagnetic storms reach our magnetosphere, supporting NOAA space weather forecasting and protecting infrastructure.

Updated 13 Jun 2026