NASA plans to send a pair of missions to the sun in the coming decade that will tell us more about our host star, and how to protect astronauts from solar storms.

The Multi-Slit Solar Explorer (MUSE) and HelioSwarm projects have been selected by the US space agency, to 'improve our understanding of the dynamics of the sun, the Sun-Earth connection, and the constantly changing space environment.' 

The missions will be able to help improve space weather forecasting, such as incoming solar flares that generate geomagnetic storms in the atmosphere.

It was a storm like this that recently caused SpaceX to lose 40 of its Starlink satellites soon after launch, when they fell back to Earth and burnt up in the atmosphere.

NASA says more accurate forecasts could also protect an increasing number of astronauts going into orbit, and protect satellites providing GPS signals.