El próximo paso de la NASA para desentrañar las electrizantes conexiones espaciales de la Tierra
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El Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) es una misión SmallSat que caracterizará las corrientes eléctricas que conectan las auroras de la Tierra con la magnetosfera del planeta. Esta ilustración muestra las tres naves espaciales EZIE orbitando sobre la aurora en uno de los polos de la Tierra Crédito: NASA/Johns Hopkins APL/Steve Gribben
EZIE will provide never before seen imaging of the electrical currents that link our planet and the surrounding space.
“We are excited for what we will learn from EZIE,” said Peg Luce acting director of NASA’s Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This mission will deepen our knowledge of the Sun-Earth connection and help us better understand the electrical currents that link beautiful aurora to Earth’s magnetosphere. This is critical because the same space weather phenomena that power the amazing aurora can cause interference with radio and communication signals and utility grids on Earth’s surface, and damage to spacecraft in orbit.”
Slated to launch no earlier than 2024, EZIE will send a trio of SmallSats to study the auroral electrojets, which are electrical currents flowing 60-90 miles (95-145 kilometers) above Earth’s poles and are just a small portion of the enormous electrical current that flows between Earth’s magnetosphere and the planet. Credit: NASA
For more on this news, see NASA’s EZIE To Unveil the Charged Link Between Earth and Space.
Financial support for EZIE is provided by the Heliophysics Explorers Program, overseen by the Explorers Program Office situated at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The mission is spearheaded by APL, responsible for designing, building, and managing EZIE, while collaborating with JPL and Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT).
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