Multi-spacecraft observations for enabling breakthroughs in space weather forecasting

More space explorers are operating today than at any previous time in history. Combined observations from Parker Solar Probe, Solar Orbiter, BepiColombo, STEREO-A, and future missions provide a unique opportunity for progress in space weather forecasting that would not be achievable with a single spacecraft. I will discuss how a multi-spacecraft approach combining synchronous observations from multiple vantage points in the heliosphere can inform our space weather modeling assets. To exemplify this idea, I will show how multi-spacecraft observations can improve the predictive abilities of models of the large-scale corona and inner heliosphere. I will focus on three pillars on how best to make use of multi-spacecraft observations in the next decade. The first is accelerating the computation speeds of state-of-the-art space weather models. Second is community-wide consensus on forecasting goals and metrics to quantify model progress. And third are community initiatives that tie together scientific expertise from different research domains worldwide to enable breakthroughs in space weather science and forecasting.