NASA launches mission to study Earth’s magnetic shield

NASA has launched its latest space science mission, TRACERS, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Short for Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites, the twin TRACERS spacecraft will explore how Earth’s magnetic field interacts with solar activity, offering new insights into the forces shaping space weather and their impact on the planet.

This mission marks a pivotal moment in NASA’s heliophysics research, as the twin satellites will orbit through the polar cusp, an open area of Earth’s magnetic field near the North Pole, to examine magnetic reconnection events. These magnetic explosions occur when the Sun’s magnetic field, carried by solar wind, collides with Earth’s magnetosphere, triggering rapid changes that send charged particles hurtling into the atmosphere. Flying just seconds apart, the two TRACERS satellites will collect a 3,000 measurements within a year to build a detailed, time-sequenced picture of how this dynamic process unfolds.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said: “NASA is proud to launch TRACERS to demonstrate and expand American preeminence in space science research and technology. The TRACERS satellites will move us forward in decoding space weather and further our understanding of the connection between Earth and the Sun. This mission will yield breakthroughs that will advance our pursuit of the Moon, and subsequently, Mars.”

Joe Westlake, Heliophysics Division Director at NASA Headquarters in Washington, added: “NASA’s heliophysics fleet helps to safeguard humanity’s home in space and understand the influence of our closest star, the Sun. By adding TRACERS to that fleet, we will gain a better understanding of those impacts right here at Earth.”

Ground controllers successfully established communication with both TRACERS spacecraft within hours of launch. Over the next month, engineers will conduct a commissioning phase to ensure all instruments and systems are functioning correctly. Once operational, the satellites will begin their 12-month mission, measuring how incoming solar particles interact with Earth’s magnetic shield and affect near-Earth space.

David Miles, TRACERS Principal Investigator at the University of Iowa, stated: “The successful launch of TRACERS is a tribute to many years of work by an excellent team. TRACERS is set to transform our understanding of Earth’s magnetosphere. We’re excited to explore the dynamic processes driving space weather.”

In addition to TRACERS, three other NASA missions, Athena EPIC, PExT and REAL, rode along on the Falcon 9 rocket. These small satellites are designed to test new technologies and gather scientific data.

Athena EPIC, led by NASA’s Langley Research Centre in partnership with NOAA and the US Space Force, will demonstrate a flexible commercial satellite architecture and collect longwave radiation measurements from Earth. PExT will test a wideband polylingual terminal that can switch between commercial and government networks, paving the way for more adaptable space communications. REAL, a CubeSat from Dartmouth College, will study how energetic electrons are scattered from the Van Allen radiation belts into the atmosphere, improving understanding of particles that pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts.

The TRACERS mission is led by the University of Iowa with support from the Southwest Research Institute and other academic partners, including UCLA and UC Berkeley. The mission is managed by NASA’s Heliophysics Explorers Programme at Goddard Space Flight Centre under the Heliophysics Division in Washington. The launch was carried out under NASA’s Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) contract, overseen by the Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Centre.