NASA launches TRACERS twin satellites to discover the mysterious link between solar storms and tech failures
NASA
has taken a major step in this direction by launching a pair of satellites known as TRACERS, which means Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites. These twin spacecraft are on a mission to better understand one of space's most energetic and mysterious processes, which is also known as magnetic reconnection.
The satellites were lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 11:13 a.m.
EDT, according to NASA. This twin satellite system is set to study the constant stream of solar wind and charged particles flowing from the Sun, which interacts with Earth's magnetic shield, also known as the magnetosphere.
What is magnetic reconnection
When the solar wind hits this magnetic field, it can lead to magnetic reconnection, which also releases a huge amount of energy. 'As the solar wind collides with Earth's magnetic field, this interaction builds up energy that can cause the magnetic field lines to snap and explosively fling away nearby particles at high speeds.
This is magnetic reconnection,' explained John Dorelli, TRACERS mission science lead at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
What is special about the mission?
These reconnection events can cause beautiful light shows like auroras, but also cause problems for satellites, astronauts, and GPS systems. That's why TRACERS is an important mission.
Over the first year alone, the mission is expected to get information on more than 3,000 such reconnection events.
The twin satellites will do this while orbiting through Earth's polar cusp region, funnel-like openings in the magnetic field where the solar wind has a direct path into our atmosphere.
How will the data from these satellites help the scientists
The data gathered from TRACERS will help scientists improve space weather forecasting and better protect critical technology here on Earth. NASA says that once the satellites are in their sun-synchronous orbit, they'll fly in tandem, sometimes just seconds apart, to study these high-energy events in real-time.
'This is going to help us keep our way of life safe here on Earth,' said Joe Westlake, director of NASA's heliophysics division.
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