{"id":186719,"date":"2025-03-15T22:59:10","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T12:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/science-research\/heliophysics\/nasas-ezie-launches-on-mission-to-study-earths-electrojets\/"},"modified":"2025-03-15T22:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T12:59:10","slug":"nasas-ezie-launches-on-mission-to-study-earths-electrojets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=186719","title":{"rendered":"NASA\u2019s EZIE Launches on Mission to Study Earth\u2019s Electrojets"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Vandenberg Space Force Base, carrying NASA\u2019s EZIE spacecraft into orbit.<\/div>\n
SpaceX<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Under the nighttime California sky, NASA\u2019s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at\u00a011:43 p.m. PDT\u00a0on March\u00a014.<\/p>\n

Taking off from Vandenberg Space Force Base near Santa Barbara, the EZIE mission\u2019s trio of small satellites will fly in a pearls-on-a-string configuration approximately 260 to 370 miles above Earth\u2019s surface to map the auroral electrojets, powerful electric currents that flow through our upper atmosphere in the polar regions where auroras glow in the sky.<\/p>\n

At approximately 2 a.m. PDT on March 15, the EZIE satellites were successfully deployed. Within the next 10 days, the spacecraft will send signals to verify they are in good health and ready to embark on their 18-month mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASA 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,\u201d said Jared Leisner, program executive for EZIE at NASA Headquarters in Washington.<\/p>\n

The electrojets \u2014 and their visible counterparts, theauroras<\/a> \u2014 are generated duringsolar storms<\/a>\u00a0when tremendous amounts of energy get transferred into Earth\u2019s upper atmosphere from the\u00a0solar wind<\/a>. Each of the EZIE spacecraft will map the electrojets, advancing our understanding of the physics of how Earth interacts with its surrounding space. This understanding will apply not only to our own planet but also to any magnetized planet in our solar system and beyond. The mission will also help scientists create models for predicting\u00a0space weather<\/a>\u00a0to mitigate its disruptive impacts on our society.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is truly incredible to see our spacecraft flying and making critical measurements, marking the start of an exciting new chapter for the EZIE mission,\u201d said Nelli Mosavi-Hoyer, project manager for EZIE at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland. \u201cI am very proud of the dedication and hard work of our team. This achievement is a testament to the team\u2019s perseverance and expertise, and I look forward to the valuable insights EZIE will bring to our understanding of Earth\u2019s electrojets and space weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of using propulsion to control their polar orbit, the spacecraft will actively use drag experienced while flying through the upper atmosphere to individually tune their spacing. Each successive spacecraft will fly over the same region 2 to 10 minutes after the former.<\/p>\n

\u201cMissions have studied these currents before, but typically either at the very large or very small scales,\u201d said Larry Kepko, EZIE mission scientist at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cEZIE will help us understand how these currents form and evolve, at scales we\u2019ve never probed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mission team is also working to distribute magnetometer kits called\u00a0EZIE-Mag<\/a>, which are available to teachers, students, and science enthusiasts who want to take their own measurements of the Earth-space electrical current system. EZIE-Mag data will be combined with EZIE measurements made from space to assemble a clear picture of this vast electrical current circuit.<\/p>\n

The EZIE mission is funded by the Heliophysics Division within NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA Goddard. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory leads the mission for NASA. Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats, and NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram, which will map the electrojets, for each of the three satellites.<\/p>\n

For the latest mission updates, follow NASA\u2019s\u00a0EZIE blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n

By Brett Molina <\/strong>
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory<\/strong><\/p>\n

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