Is a Sea Change Coming for New Horizons Heliospheric Science?

• New Horizons, the spacecraft that studied Pluto and the Kuiper Belt, is facing budget cuts at NASA that could force it to suspend its heliospheric science, which involves measuring the solar wind and high-energy particles throughout the solar system. The mission's two instruments, PEPSSI and SWAP, are crucial for this data collection, and the lack of funding makes it impossible to staff mission control and maintain the instruments.
• The spacecraft has been continuously gathering data since launch, even during hibernation, and the data are piling up as it moves farther from Earth. The instruments are essential for measuring the termination shock and heliopause, which are key events in the solar system's boundary. Without funding, the mission will have to pause data collection, potentially losing a unique opportunity to study the heliosphere and interstellar space.
• The budget cuts are not a political issue but a financial one, and the mission team is requesting continued support for heliophysics science. Helio data is vital for understanding the solar wind and its effects on planets and interstellar space. The data from New Horizons will help scientists study astrospheres around other stars, contributing to broader astrophysical research.

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