International Space Science Institute ISSI

This week we are hosting the International Team working on the "Impact of Solar Energetic Particles on Mars: Enhancing Space Weather Insights for Future Exploration" led by Marco Pinto and Laura Rodríguez-García.

This Team is investigating how solar energetic particles travel from the Sun through the heliosphere, interact with the Martian atmosphere, and ultimately reach the surface of Mars.

This research is critical for supporting future human and robotic missions to Mars, improving radiation risk assessment, and advancing our understanding of space weather effects across the solar system, including near Earth.

The goal: validate an integrated model that connects the full chain of physics involved — from solar particle acceleration, through heliospheric transport, to atmospheric interactions and radiation effects at the Martian surface.

Read more: https://teams.issibern.ch/solarparticlesmars/

Hey community!
If you are in Lausanne this week, stop by the ISSI booth and say 'Hi'!

We are here to connect with the science community, share research opportunities, and hand out plenty of goodies. Whether you are curious, looking for collaborations, or just want to chat space science, come find us on the blue carpet! 🟦

Curious about the latest discoveries and insights from Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter ☀️?

Watch here the recorded webinar with Marco Velli (Space Physics in the Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences Department, UCLA, USA)

youtu.be/jV8jfdSmN7Y

Origins and Structure of the Heliosphere: Novel Discoveries and Insights with Marco Velli The launch of Parker Solar Probe (Parker) in 2018, accompanied shor...

"Excitation and Dissipation of Kinetic-scale Fluctuations in Space Plasmas" is the focus of this week's ISSI International Team #612, led by Kristopher Klein and Daniel Verscharen.

The team’s main aim is to connect high-resolution measurements of particle velocity distributions from missions such as , , and MMS with modern kinetic theory, machine-learning methods, and nonlinear simulations.

This matters because these small-scale processes control how energy is transferred between particles and electromagnetic fields, shaping the heating, transport, and large-scale evolution of collisionless plasmas such as the solar wind, planetary magnetospheres, and in more distant astrophysical systems.

A key expected outcome is a set of observation-driven models that connect measured velocity distributions to the growth, damping, and global impact of kinetic-scale fluctuations. 🌟