Space science, space weather, and space exploration

The Science Mission Directorate is organized to serve the needs of scientific investigation in the era where the United States sustains a significant program of human and robotic exploration. A new functional structure of the Science Mission Directorate is aimed at facilitating the agency's Vision for Space Exploration. As a part of the Science Mission Directorate, the Earth-Sun System Division (ESSD) undertakes an emphasis on the concept of the modulation of the Earth, the planets, and space itself by the magnetic variability of the Sun. In particular, the systematic investigation of the three forces in play in Space Weather phenonomona - pressure, gravity, and magnetism - as they act in and across the solar system. These investigations form the basis of the interaction of the ESSD with other discipline areas of the Directorate, the Human Exploration Program, and with national interests in the research and development of a national Space Weather capability.