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The artist’s impression of two tracing spacecraft in low -earth orbit. | Credit: Ajova University/Andy Kale
A new mission to blow up low -earth orbit will study magnetic storms around Earth and learn more about how they affect our atmosphere and satellites.
NASA tandem re-communication and CUSP electrodynamic intelligence satellites or, in short, the mission means a pair of satellites that will fly in the synchronous orbit of the Sun-it means that they are always in the Earth’s days-and pass through the polar enclosures. The pages are essentially two holes in the Earth’s magnet, where the outdoor lines immersed on magnetic poles.
When the influx of solar wind particles inserts into the Earth’s magnetosphere, they can overload the magnetic field lines, so they can squeeze, disconnect and re -log in. The magnetic re -join, as the process is called, can release the energy that accelerates the charged particles down the funnel -shaped hoods and to our atmosphere, where they collide with molecules and, if the sun’s storm is intense enough, creates auroral light bulbs.
When Tracers are expected to be at the end of July, the aim will be to learn more about the magnetic connection process and how space the weather affects our planet.
“What we will learn from tracers is very important for understanding and ultimately anticipating how energy from our sun influences not only Earth but also our space and overground property, whether they are general practitioners, communication signals, electricity networks, space or our astronauts working in space,” said Joe Westlake. In NASA in telekonferences ,.
Historically, the problem of studying a magnetic connection was that when the satellite flies through the re -connection region and captures the data, everything he sees is a instant image. Then, about 90 minutes later, in another orbit, one more instant photo is needed. During that time, the region may have changed, but it is impossible to say from those instant photos why it is different. This may be because the system itself is changing, or the process of connecting the magnetic connection between the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetosphere is moving, or maybe it is turned on and off.
Earth’s magnetic field. The hoods are located at the pillars where the magnetic field lines are reduced. | Credit: Peter Reid, Edinburgh University.
“These are the main things we need to understand,” said Tracers’ main researcher David Miles of Ajova University in the same telekonfernce.
That is why tracers are important because they are two satellites working together, not a single magnetic researcher.
“They follow each other very close to separation,” said Miles. “So, one spacecraft passes by and the second spacecraft passes in two minutes, which gives us two closely arranged measurements.”
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At the same time, the double spacecraft will measure the strength of the magnetic and electric field where the magnetic connection takes place, as well as what the local ions and electrons do stuck in the magnetosphere.
“What the Tracers will take is how the sun’s exit to the nearly Earth’s space,” said Miles. “We want to understand how the connection of those systems is changing in space and time.”
Tracers will not be alone and will be able to work with other missions already ongoing, such as the Multiple Mission (MMM) of the NASA magnetosphere, where studies re -connect from further traces of Low Earth 590 kilometers above our heads. There is also a NASA Polarimeter to unify the mission of Corona and Heliosphere (Punch), and Electropojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (Ezie), which both investigate the Sun Wind Interaction with our Planet of Low Earth.
“Tracers join the current Heliophysics missions that actively increase our understanding of the sun, cosmic air and how to soften its effects,” said Westlake.
The $ 170 million SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is expected to carry $ 170 million at a time, which would carry several other small missions to orbit at a time. The answers that tracers can provide about how magnetic communication work will allow scientists to better protect critical infrastructure when the sun’s storm is caught.
“It will help us protect our lifestyle here on earth,” Westlake said.