NASA is set to launch its Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) mission in March to study the powerful electrical currents known as electrojets, which flow through the upper atmosphere around Earth’s poles.
These currents, which can carry up to a million amps of electrical charge per second, play a crucial role in space weather, impacting satellite communications, power grids, and the safety of astronauts. By mapping these electrojets, NASA aims to improve predictions of space weather and help mitigate its effects on Earth.
The EZIE mission includes three CubeSats, each about the size of a carry-on suitcase, which will fly in formation from pole to pole approximately 550 kilometers above Earth. These small satellites will observe electrojets that flow in the ionosphere, about 100 kilometers above the Earth’s surface.
The spacecraft will use a technique that involves measuring the microwave emission from oxygen molecules in the atmosphere, which is affected by the electrojets' magnetic fields.
Each of the CubeSats will carry a Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram, an instrument that can observe the Zeeman effect, where the magnetic fields from the electrojets cause a splitting of microwave emissions from oxygen molecules.
The strength and direction of these magnetic fields will help scientists understand the structure and evolution of the electrojets.
This technology, developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), has been miniaturized for use on small satellites and has previously been applied in missions such as TEMPEST-D and CubeRRT.
Sam Yee, principal investigator for EZIE at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), called the Zeeman technique "a game-changing approach" for studying a region of space that is difficult to access directly.
It lies too high for balloons but too low for conventional satellites. This new approach will enable scientists to make important measurements of the electrojets in a previously unexplored altitude range.
The mission will also involve citizen scientists, with the distribution of EZIE-Mag magnetometer kits to students in the U.S. and volunteers worldwide.
These participants will collect magnetic field data from the ground, which will be compared with the spacecraft’s measurements, adding a valuable layer of data to the research.
The EZIE CubeSats will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of the Transporter-13 rideshare mission.
The timing of the launch during the solar maximum phase of the 11-year solar cycle is beneficial, as the electrojets are closely tied to solar activity, which is at its peak during this phase.
EZIE is part of NASA’s broader effort to study space weather, working alongside other missions like PUNCH (Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere), which is set to launch in late February to study the Sun’s outer atmosphere and its role in the solar wind.
The mission is a cost-effective, groundbreaking example of how small CubeSats can enable significant scientific discovery.
"This mission couldn’t have flown a decade ago," said Dan Kepko, a member of the EZIE team. "It’s pushing the envelope of what’s possible with small satellites."
Funded by NASA’s Heliophysics Division and managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA Goddard, the EZIE mission is led by APL, with CubeSats built by Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado.
This pioneering mission aims to advance understanding of the Earth-Sun connection and help safeguard human infrastructure from the impacts of space weather.
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