Heliophysics is a new research field that explores the Sun Solar System Connection; it requires the joint exploitation of solar, heliospheric, magnetospheric and ionospheric observations.

HELIO, the Heliophysics Integrated Observatory, will facilitate this study by creating an integrated e-Infrastructure that has no equivalent anywhere else. It will be a key component of a worldwide effort to integrate heliophysics data and will coordinate closely with international organizations to exploit synergies with complementary domains.

HELIO was proposed under a Research Infrastructure call in the Capacities Programme of the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme (FP7). The project was selected for negotiation in January 2009; following a successful conclusion to these, the project started on I June 2009 and will last for 36 months. 0 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of COSPAR.