Solar System Consolidated Grant 2022-25

The Sun’s outer atmosphere continuously blasts a stream of charged particles—the solar wind—across the solar system, and this programme will track how that wind disrupts planetary magnetic fields, moons, and spacecraft. This matters because space weather—driven by solar eruptions and the solar wind—can knock out satellites, disrupt radio communications, and damage power grids on Earth. Current models struggle to predict when and how severely these events will hit. The research also addresses fundamental gaps: how stars like the Sun generate their magnetic activity, how that activity shapes the environments around planets, and what conditions make a world potentially habitable. If successful, the work will improve forecasts of space weather, giving grid operators and satellite companies more warning to protect critical infrastructure. It will also clarify how the Saturn system works as a natural laboratory for magnetic and plasma interactions. Much of this is fundamental science—understanding how stars and planetary systems develop. Past fundamental research on the Sun’s magnetic field, for example, led directly to the satellite-based navigation and communications systems we rely on today. Deeper knowledge of solar variability could similarly underpin future technologies for protecting astronauts and electronics on long-duration space missions.