- One of the initiatives that will present its achievements at ‘New Space & Solutions’ is the Spanish Aerospace Solar Physics Network, known by its acronym S3PC (Spanish Space Solar Physics Consortium). This scientific collaboration will share the most important milestones of its consortium throughout its 23-year history, among them, the Sunrise III mission, a stratospheric initiative that has made it possible to collect unprecedented data from the Sun, with observations of incalculable scientific value.
- The main objective of S3PC is to study the physics of the Sun from space and, in particular, to develop instruments that determine the Sun’s magnetic field in order to gather crucial information about the star and its influence on the Earth. In particular, some of the results will allow satellite operators and space agencies to anticipate risk events, reducing costs and increasing safety in the face of such events. As a result, technologies and applications to other fields of space research are being developed.
- From 17 to 21 March 2025, the Cartuja Auditorium in Seville will host the first edition of ‘New Space & Solutions’, a pioneering meeting in which the space and satellite industry will come together to jointly explain the solutions they provide to citizens.
“A milestone in solar observation”, “unprecedented data from the Sun”, “observations of incalculable scientific value”… The first known data from the Sunrise III mission, the most ambitious stratospheric mission for solar observation known in our country, has been grabbing headlines since December 2024 to highlight a new unprecedented success of the Spanish Aerospace Solar Physics Network, known by its acronym S3PC (Spanish Space Solar Physics Consortium). Sunrise III has been the latest adventure of the Spanish team, whose trajectory will be briefly described during the ‘New Space & Solutions’.
The team, led by the Solar Physics Group (SPG) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) through the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía (IAA), also includes the Instituto de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA); the Instituto de Microgravedad ‘Ignacio da Riva’, of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid; the Universitat de València and the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC). Unique in Spain, it combines theory, observation and instrumental development.
Spain, at the forefront of solar physics
“This collaboration reflects the high level of Spanish technology and research in the field of solar physics”, said IAA-CSIC astronomer Jose Carlos del Toro Iniesta, principal investigator of the scientific team that obtained the data and will participate in the first edition of ‘New Space & Solutions’, a new event that will make Seville the European Space Capital from 17 to 21 March 2025 and which is born with the firm idea of becoming an annual event of reference on how space helps and will help to solve the problems of citizens in cities, rural areas, services, travel, companies and businesses.
Del Toro Iniesta will share the main milestones in the history of the Spanish Aerospace Solar Physics Network (S3PC) and will address the challenges that this consortium plans to face in the future. His intervention will take place during the fourth day of this event, where the ‘New Space’ industry meets to offer innovative solutions. The event will take place over two days in the Cartuja Auditorium in Seville –managed by Yventu– and three additional days in virtual format.
Prevention of risk situations in Space
S3PC’s focus is on the study of the solar magnetic field. ‘The magnetic field is the most important physical quantity for understanding solar phenomena that are then relevant on Earth. The radiative energy of flares and the kinetic energy of coronal mass ejections that eventually reach the Earth comes from the previously stored magnetic field. By observing the magnetic field and its changes, we will learn to predict potentially dangerous events for our life and economic activity on Earth and its space environment,’ say the S3PC team.
The S3PC team has already fully developed the IMaX (Imaging Magnetograph eXperiment) magnetograph, which flew and produced data on the first two editions of the Sunrise mission, in 2009 and 2013. It has co-led the development of the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) magnetograph for ESA’s Solar Orbiter mission together with the Max-Planck Institute for Solar System Physics (MPS; Göttingen, Germany). PHI was launched in 2020 and is still travelling around the Sun, recording unique data. It has fully developed the TuMag (Tunable Magnetograph) instrument and co-lead the SCIP (Sunrise Chromospheric Infrared spectroPolarimeter) instrument for the Sunrise III mission. The latter instrument was developed together with the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. And he is currently working on PMI (Polarimetric Magnetic field Imager) for ESA’s Vigil mission, again together with the MPS institute.
Collaborating in the prediction and monitoring of risk events will allow satellite operators and international agencies to make decisions earlier, reducing risks and costs.
All the presentations can be followed through ‘The Observatory’. Medina Media Events’ digital platform, in the style of an on-demand service, where each conferene will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, free of charge.