AUTHOR=Nykyri Katariina , Ma Xuanye , Burkholder Brandon , Liou Yu-Lun , Cuéllar Roberto , Kavosi Shiva , Borovsky Joseph E. , Parker Jeff , Rosen Mitchell , De Moudt Lauren , Ebert Robert Wilkes , Ogasawara Keiichi , Opher Merav , Sibeck David Gary , Di Matteo Simone , Viall Nicholeen , Wallace Samantha , Jorgensen Therese M. , Hesse Michael , West Matthew J. , Adhikari Laxman , Argall Matthew R. , Egedal Jan , Wilder Frederick , Broll Jeffrey , Poh Gangkai , Wing Simon , Russell Christopher TITLE=Seven Sisters: a mission to study fundamental plasma physical processes in the solar wind and a pathfinder to advance space weather prediction JOURNAL=Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences VOLUME=10 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/astronomy-and-space-sciences/articles/10.3389/fspas.2023.1179344 DOI=10.3389/fspas.2023.1179344 ISSN=2296-987X ABSTRACT=

This paper summarizes the Seven Sisters solar wind mission concept and the outstanding science questions motivating the mission science objectives. The Seven Sisters mission includes seven individual spacecraft designed to uncover fundamental physical processes in the solar wind and provides up to ≈ 2 days of advanced space weather warnings for 550 Earth days during the mission. The mission will collect critical measurements of the thermal and suprathermal plasma and magnetic fields, utilizing, for the first time, Venus–Sun Lagrange points. The multi-spacecraft configuration makes it possible to distinguish between spatial and temporal changes, define gradients, and quantify cross-scale transport in solar wind structures. Seven Sisters will determine the 3-D structure of the solar wind and its transient phenomena and their evolution in the inner heliosphere. Data from the Seven Sisters mission will allow the identification of physical processes and the quantification of the relative contribution of different mechanisms responsible for suprathermal particle energization in the solar wind.