Speaker: Dr. Gina A. DiBraccio
Affiliation: NASA GSFC
Date: Friday, September 25, 2026
Time: 3:30 PM
Zoom/Meeting Link: https://ucla.zoom.us/j/97178405473?pwd=WMx7ClxaSw38JatXhzPshjC5G0O1Um.1
Abstract
As NASA increases its cadence of crewed missions beyond low Earth orbit, robust space weather capabilities are critical for protecting astronauts, spacecraft, and mission operations. The Heliophysics Science Division at NASA's GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) supports these efforts through an integrated set of space weather research, capabilities, and services that provide situational awareness, data and modeling analysis tools, and decision support for human and robotic exploration: The Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office (M2M SWAO) provides human-in-the-loop, real-time space weather analysis; the Community Coordinated Modeling Center (CCMC) hosts and evaluates models and develops tools for space weather analysis and forecasting; and the Space Weather Science Operations Center, along with the Heliophysics Data and Resource Library (HDRL) provide interoperable access to NASA heliophysics data. Extending these capabilities to the Moon and Mars present new challenges in monitoring and forecasting space weather in an environment with limited observations and distinct radiation hazards. One example of innovative development is the Mars Space Weather Dashboard, which provides near real-time observations and products for space weather activity at Mars. This dashboard presents a prototype of space weather assessment tools to support Earth-independent operations. Integrated together, scientists and space weather capabilities at NASA GSFC enable access to observations, modeling capabilities, forecasting tools, and analysis systems needed to assess and mitigate space weather threats in support of human exploration.