The SPEARHEAD (SPEcification, Analysis & Re-calibration of High Energy pArticle Data) project, funded under Horizon Europe of the European Commission, started in the beginning of the year 2024. This 3-years projects aims to provide a thorough analysis of very high-energy particle observations (electrons >1 MeV and ions >100 MeV/nucleon) from the most important heliophysics missions (SOHO, Solar Orbiter, Parker Solar Probe, BepiColombo, STEREO, Chandra, Ulysses, Planck, Integral, Herschel) combined with ground based measurements (neutron monitors, Mars Science Laboratory). It will shed light to open scientific questions on the acceleration, release and transport of energetic particles. In doing so, the project will provide consolidated datasets, methodology and open access tools to the community; enabling breakthrough science.
The Kick-off Meeting (KOM) of the project was held on 25 January 2024. The Consortium led by the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), includes the University of Turku (UTU), the Christian-Albrechts-Universitat zu Kiel (CAU), the University of Oulu (UOULU), the Institute of Research in Astrophysics and Planetology (IRAP), SPARC, the Instituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) and the Hvar Observatory (OH). Partners of the Consortium had a full day of fruitful discussions during the KOM and planned the immediate next steps towards SPEARHEADs’ implementation.