What If We’ve Been Wrong About Auroras All Along? NASA’s EZIE Mission Launched To Find Out

For most people, the formation and behaviour of Auroras is a mystery, but the NASA EZIE mission is preparing to study this occurrence from space. The Auroras are a majestic sight to behold and one of the wonders of nature that draw tourists from around the world to various countries in the Arctic Circle.

NASA’s EZIE Mission Successfully Launched

NASA’s EZIE mission is officially on its way following a successful launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:43 p.m. PDT on 14 March. Just a few hours later, at approximately 2 a.m. PDT on 15 March, the EZIE satellites were deployed into orbit.

Over the next 10 days, the spacecraft will begin transmitting signals back to Earth, allowing mission teams to confirm their health and functionality.

Studying The Auroras From Space

Currently, we understand that Auroras occur as a result of the reactions between the Sun’s charged particles and the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Once these charged particles get into the Earth’s upper atmosphere, they react, producing the bright lights that we know as the Auroras.

Well, the reaction isn’t as basic as the previous paragraph makes it seem. Another element that plays a very important role in this reaction process is electrojets, which are the electrical currents that flow around the Earth’s poles and can disrupt connectivity on Earth.

There is little understanding of the behaviour of these currents and how they interact with the Earth’s magnetic field. The purpose of the NASA EZIE mission is to study these electrojets to help us better understand how the flow of these currents plays a role in the formation of Auroras.

Larry Kepko, NASA EZIE mission scientist says that this is “the first mission dedicated exclusively to studying the electrojets, and it does so with a completely new measurement technique.” Unlike previous studies of electrojets, the EZIE mission will perform its studies from space, hence giving scientists a clearer understanding of this phenomenon.

To observe these Electrojets from space, the EZIE mission will launch three CubeSats equipped with Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram into space. All three CubeSats will observe the Electrojets in two to ten-minute intervals to help scientists understand their movements and changes over short periods.

More Details On The NASA EZIE Mission

Just like with most other NASA missions, the EZIE mission will launch aboard a SpaceX rocket. The launch date of this mission is not clear, however, it will make its way to space during a Solar Maximum.

The reason for this is that electrojets respond better to solar activity, so this will be the best time to get them in their most active state. Another significant detail about this mission is that it will put the Zeeman effect to use while studying the magnetic fields.

This is the reason behind NASA equipping the three CubeSats with Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram devices. These will help not only to observe the Zeeman effects, but also to measure its strength and direction of the electrojet’s magnetic field during Zeeman splitting.

Lastly, the NASA EZIE mission will work with the NASA PUNCH mission which was recently launched. This makes sense since the PUNCH mission aims to study solar winds, and solar winds create charged particles that react with the Earth’s upper atmosphere, leading to the formation of Auroras.

Armed with a better understanding of electrojet,s scientists will be able to better predict solar storms. The findings of this mission will help improve future space missions and also the technological society at large.