{"id":96878,"date":"2022-02-14T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-14T19:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-477293"},"modified":"2023-07-26T16:34:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T20:34:58","slug":"nasas-minxss-instrument-cubesat-launches-to-study-suns-flares","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/small-satellite-missions\/nasas-minxss-instrument-cubesat-launches-to-study-suns-flares\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s MinXSS Instrument CubeSat Launches to Study Sun\u2019s Flares"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer 3, or MinXSS-3, successfully launched on the InspireSat-1 small satellite at 7:29 p.m. EST on Feb. 13, 2022. Also known as the Dual Aperture X-ray Solar Spectrometer, or DAXSS, it is the third of three NASA-funded MinXSS CubeSats. It will spend up to a year in low-Earth orbit studying X-rays coming from flares on the Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-cover \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"MinXSS CubeSat deployment from ISS\" style=\"transform: scale(1.2); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg 4940w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=1024,682 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=2048,1365 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=400,267 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=900,600 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/minxss_cubesats_deployed_from_iss.jpg?resize=2000,1333 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" loading=\"eager\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">Astronaut Tim Peake on board the International Space Station captured this image of a CubeSat deployment on May 16, 2016, including the first MinXSS CubeSat (bottom-most in image). <\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credits: ESA\/NASA<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p>The Sun sometimes releases flares, which are energetic bursts of light and particles triggered by the release of magnetic energy on the Sun that travel across the solar system. X-rays emitted by the Sun during intense flares can interfere with GPS, radio, and other communications signals when they reach Earth. MinXSS will study the energetics of these flares in wavelengths known as soft X-rays, that are particularly impactful on Earth\u2019s ionosphere \u2013 an electrified upper layer of the atmosphere where communications signals travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to the MinXSS CubeSats, spectral measurements of the soft X-rays from the Sun had rarely been studied. MinXSS-3\u2019s observations, which can record even very weak solar flares, will help scientists better understand the physics behind solar flares as well as how such events heat up material in the Sun\u2019s hot outer atmosphere called the corona \u2013 a longstanding question for solar scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The MinXSS development program was funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate CubeSat Initiative Program and implemented by the University of Colorado Boulder under the leadership of Principal Investigator Tom Woods. MinXSS-3 was launched on the Indian Space Research Organization\u2019s Polar Space Launch Vehicle C.<\/p>\n\n\n<div id=\"\" class=\"hds-media hds-module wp-block-image\"><div class=\"margin-left-auto margin-right-auto nasa-block-align-inline\"><div class=\"hds-media-wrapper margin-left-auto margin-right-auto\"><figure class=\"hds-media-inner hds-cover-wrapper hds-media-ratio-none \"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"1185\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?w=2048\" class=\"attachment-2048x2048 size-2048x2048\" alt=\"Two young men smiling with a piece of machinery in the background.\" style=\"transform: scale(1); transform-origin: 50% 50%; object-position: 50% 50%; object-fit: cover;\" block_context=\"nasa-block\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg 2326w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=300,174 300w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=768,444 768w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=1024,593 1024w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=1536,889 1536w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=2048,1185 2048w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=400,231 400w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=600,347 600w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=900,521 900w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=1200,694 1200w, https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?resize=2000,1157 2000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><figcaption class=\"hds-caption padding-y-2\"><div class=\"hds-caption-text p-sm margin-0\">LASP graduate students Bennet Schwab (left) and Robert Sewell pose with the DAXSS flight unit.<\/div><div class=\"hds-credits\">Credits: CU\/LASP<\/div><\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Related Links<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2016\/minxss-cubesat-deployed-from-iss-to-study-sun-s-soft-x-rays\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>MinXSS CubeSat Deployed From the ISS to Study Sun\u2019s Soft X-Rays<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2016\/minxss-cubesat-brings-new-information-to-study-of-solar-flares\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>MinXSS CubeSat Brings New Information to Study of Solar Flares<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/lasp.colorado.edu\/home\/minxss\/\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>More information on MinXSS CubeSat<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/mission_pages\/cubesats\/index.html\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>More information on NASA\u2019s CubeSats <\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>By\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:mjohnson-groh@sesda.com\" data-type=\"mailto\" data-id=\"mailto:mjohnson-groh@sesda.com\">Mara Johnson-Groh<\/a><br><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/goddard\">NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center<\/a>, Greenbelt, Md.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer 3, or MinXSS-3, successfully launched on the InspireSat-1 small satellite at 7:29 p.m. EST on Feb. 13, 2022. Also known as the Dual Aperture X-ray Solar Spectrometer, or DAXSS, it is the third of three NASA-funded MinXSS CubeSats. It will spend up to a year in low-Earth orbit studying X-rays coming [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":102084,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3194,2837,2777,10795],"news-tags":[],"internal-terms":[10596],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"NASA\u2019s MinXSS Instrument CubeSat Launches to Study Sun\u2019s Flares","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/small-satellite-missions\/nasas-minxss-instrument-cubesat-launches-to-study-suns-flares\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/small-satellite-missions\/nasas-minxss-instrument-cubesat-launches-to-study-suns-flares\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg"},"articleSection":"Missions","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Vanessa Thomas"}],"creator":["Vanessa Thomas"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["Science & Research","Heliophysics","Space Weather","Solar Flares","CubeSats","Small Satellite Missions"],"dateCreated":"2022-02-14T19:30:00Z","datePublished":"2022-02-14T19:30:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-26T20:34:58Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"NASA\u2019s MinXSS Instrument CubeSat Launches to Study Sun\u2019s Flares\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/missions\/small-satellite-missions\/nasas-minxss-instrument-cubesat-launches-to-study-suns-flares\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2022-02-14T19:30:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Missions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"Science & Research,Heliophysics,Space Weather,Solar Flares,CubeSats,Small Satellite Missions\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"Vanessa Thomas\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":2,"time_ago":"2 years","featured_image":{"id":102084,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/daxss_students_apr2019.jpg","title":"daxss_students_apr2019","alt":"Two young men smiling with a piece of machinery in the background.","caption":"LASP graduate students Bennet Schwab (left) and Robert Sewell pose with the DAXSS flight unit."},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96878"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=96878"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96878\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279029,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/96878\/revisions\/279029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=96878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=96878"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=96878"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=96878"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=96878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}