NASA‘s Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) mission launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on Saturday, March 14, to study Earth’s Electrojets and improve space weather predictions.
EZIE consists of three small Blue Canyon Technologies CubeSat satellites that will move in formation between 260 and 370 miles above the Earth, mapping auroral electrojets using the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram developed at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The satellites successfully deployed on March 15, following their ride on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Electrojets
Electrojets are powerful electric currents that travel in the ionosphere, generated when solar winds bring solar storm energy to the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Three electrojets circle the Earth: the equatorial electrojet at the magnetic equator and the auroral electrojets at the magnetic poles. The auroral electrojets flow through the D and E regions of the auroral ionosphere with incredible strength and persistence. Brightly visible auroras are counterparts to the electrojets resulting from the same solar events.
“Missions have studied these currents before, but typically either at the very large or very small scales,” said Larry Kepko, EZIE mission scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “EZIE will help us understand how these currents form and evolve at scales we’ve never probed.”
NASA EZIE Mission
“NASA has leaned into small missions that can provide compelling science while accepting more risk. EZIE represents excellent science being executed by an excellent team, and it is delivering exactly what NASA is looking for,” said Jared Leisner, program executive for EZIE at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
The mission is scheduled to last 18 months, led by The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, with the first check-in signals expected within 10 days. Manipulated drag will calibrate the satellite’s spacing, between two and ten minutes apart, instead of powered propulsion.
Mapping these electrojets will help scientists understand how Earth is impacted by the Sun and near space, with future applications to understanding magnetized planets beyond our solar system. Scientists plan to create new space weather prediction models from the expected data, which is crucial as sunspots have become increasingly problematic due to their potential to disrupt electronics on Earth and in orbit.
“It is truly incredible to see our spacecraft flying and making critical measurements, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for the EZIE mission,” said Nelli Mosavi-Hoyer, project manager for EZIE at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.
Citizen Science and Beyond
NASA invites citizen scientists to participate in the EZIE mission through EZIE-Mag kits. The kits contain magnetometers, which the mission team currently distributes to teachers, students, and amateur scientists for taking their own measurements of the Earth-space electrical current system. The mission team will collate the EZIE-Mag and EZIE data to understand the Earth’s electrical circuit more completely.
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“I am very proud of the dedication and hard work of our team. This achievement is a testament to the team’s perseverance and expertise, and I look forward to the valuable insights EZIE will bring to our understanding of Earth’s electrojets and space weather,” Mosavi concluded.
Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted atryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter@mdntwvlf.