Swiss satellite set to improve solar storm forecasts

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Zurich is developing a new satellite to study solar storms. From 2030, the research satellite called Ethos is set to help forecast space weather more accurately, the university announced on Monday.

Powerful solar flares heat up the upper atmosphere and cause it to expand. As a result, satellites in low Earth orbit enter denser layers of air and are slowed down more significantly. They lose altitude and may deviate from their calculated trajectory.

This increases the risk of colliding with other satellites or space debris. However, according to the university, it has so far only been possible to predict the extent to which the atmosphere reacts to solar activity with a degree of uncertainty.

Ethos is designed to investigate these relationships in greater detail. The small satellite, weighing around 25 to 30 kilograms, will be equipped with several scientific instruments for this purpose. Among other things, these will measure the energy emitted by the Sun, as well as X-ray and extreme ultraviolet radiation during solar flares.

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Other instruments will monitor changes in the ionosphere – an electrically charged layer of the Earth’s upper atmosphere – and determine the satellite’s orbit with high precision.

Data series for climate research

The combination of these measurements is intended to show how fluctuations in solar activity alter the ionosphere and, as a result, change the density of the upper atmosphere and the drag experienced by satellites. The data could help to improve space weather forecasting and provide satellite operators with early warning of potential orbital changes.

The satellite is also intended to support the long-term observation of solar radiation. Several existing measurement missions are expected to reach the end of their operational lifetimes around 2030. ‘Ethos’ is designed to help ensure that the measurement series continue without interruption. According to ETH Zurich, the data are also significant for climate research.

The mission is being developed by ETH Zurich in collaboration with the Davos Physical-Meteorological Observatory, the University of Bern and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). The research institutions are developing the scientific instruments, whilst the satellite itself is to be supplied by a commercial provider.

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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.