Korea and NASA Team Up to Study the Sun with CODEX
The Republic of Korea’s national space agency, in collaboration with the United States, is set to send a solar coronagraph to the International Space Station (ISS). This device, known as the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment (CODEX), is a joint effort between the Korea AeroSpace Administration (KASA) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
CODEX will be launched aboard Space X’s Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once at the ISS, it will be docked with the express logistics carrier to observe the sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, and solar wind for up to 55 minutes per 90-minute Earth orbit.
This coronagraph is the first of its kind, designed to measure the temperature, velocity, and density of the solar wind. The data collected will help researchers better understand solar wind and improve predictions of space weather, which is influenced by the constant stream of particles and magnetic fields released from the sun’s outermost atmospheric layer.
Doubts Revealed
NASA -: NASA is the United States’ space agency. It stands for National Aeronautics and Space Administration. They explore space and study things like planets and stars.
CODEX -: CODEX is a special tool called a solar coronagraph. It helps scientists study the sun’s outer atmosphere and solar wind, which are important for understanding space weather.
International Space Station -: The International Space Station, or ISS, is a big space station that orbits Earth. Scientists from different countries live and work there to learn more about space.
Space X’s Falcon 9 -: Falcon 9 is a rocket made by a company called SpaceX. It is used to send things like satellites and scientific instruments into space.
Solar wind -: Solar wind is a stream of particles that come from the sun. It can affect things like satellites and power grids on Earth, so scientists study it to predict space weather.
Korea AeroSpace Administration -: The Korea AeroSpace Administration is South Korea’s space agency. They work on space projects and collaborate with other countries to explore and study space.
