Author: Vanessa Thomas

At 3 p.m. EDT on Monday, March 24, hear from experts and ask your questions about NASA’s newly launched EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission to investigate auroral electrojets, intense electrical currents that flow through our upper atmosphere in the polar regions where auroras glow in the sky. The EZIE trio of spacecraft launched March 14 PDT from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Watch “NASA Science Live: New EZIE Mission to Study Magnetic Fingerprints of Earth’s Aurora” on Facebook, YouTube, and NASA+.

During the event, EZIE team members from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will describe how EZIE is studying the magnetic fingerprints of auroral electrojets up close and in detail for the first time. Rapid changes in these currents can disrupt our technology and lead to effects such as power outages. Examining the electrojets will improve our understanding of space weather and help mitigate its negative impacts on society, for the benefit of all.

Our experts will also share how students and citizen scientists can participate in NASA research and contribute to EZIE’s mission.

Viewers can use the hashtag #askNASA on social media or leave a comment in the chat section on Facebook to submit their questions about EZIE, auroras, electrojets, and how to get involved.

After the live event, a recording will be available at the sites above as well as on the NASA Science Live web page.

The EZIE mission is funded by the Heliophysics Division within the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, leads the mission for NASA. Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram, which will map the electrojets, for each of the three satellites.

Mission controllers for NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission have received signals from the mission’s three satellites confirming that they are in good health and operating as expected.

The EZIE spacecraft launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 15 EDT (March 14 PDT).

Over the next two months, EZIE’s mission operations team at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, will conduct full science and instrument checkouts – called commissioning – for the three spacecraft.

Once this commissioning is complete, EZIE will begin its science investigation into the intense electrical currents called electrojets that flow through our upper atmosphere in the polar regions where auroras glow in the sky. Mapping the electrojets will help scientists better predict the effects of geomagnetic storms and other space weather phenomena that can impact our technological society.

Learn more about the mission.

At 11:43 p.m. PDT on March 14, 2025, NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

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 the ground to verify they are in good health and operating normally.

The trio of satellites will orbit approximately 260 to 370 miles (420 to 590 kilometers) above Earth’s surface to map and study changes in the auroral electrojets, powerful electric currents that flow through our upper atmosphere in the polar regions where auroras glow in the sky. The EZIE mission will help scientists improve models for predicting space weather to mitigate its disruptive impacts on our society.

The EZIE mission is funded by the Heliophysics Division within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, leads the mission for NASA. Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram, which will map the electrojets, for each of the three satellites.

Read more.

NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:43 p.m. PDT on March 14 (2:43 a.m. EDT on March 15).

The mission is being carried to orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Maverick Space Systems.

In the next few hours, SpaceX will confirm that the mission’s three spacecraft were successfully deployed from the rocket.

Once in orbit, EZIE’s trio of CubeSats will fly in formation around Earth’s poles to study auroral electrojets, intense electrical currents that flow through our upper atmosphere where auroras glow in the sky. By mapping the electrojets, EZIE will help scientists better predict geomagnetic storms and other space weather phenomena that can affect our technological society.

The EZIE mission is funded by the Heliophysics Division within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, leads the mission for NASA. Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram, which will map the electrojets, for each of the three satellites.

Visit NASA’s EZIE website for more information about the mission. Follow NASA’s EZIE blog for the latest updates.

NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is poised to launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The 17-minute launch window opens at 2:39 a.m. EDT on March 15 (11:39 p.m. PDT on March 14).

Follow live launch coverage from SpaceX starting about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, or around 2:22 a.m. EDT on March 15 (11:22 p.m. PDT on March 14).

The trio of EZIE CubeSats are launching aboard the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Maverick Space Systems.

Following the launch, the EZIE spacecraft will perform in-orbit checkouts within 10 days, and then the mission will be ready to begin science and instrument checkout. Once all systems are confirmed to be operational, EZIE will begin its science mission to study intense electrical currents called auroral electrojets, which flow through Earth’s upper atmosphere where auroras (northern and southern lights) glow in the sky.

Follow NASA’s EZIE blog for mission updates.

Visit NASA’s EZIE website for more information about the mission.

NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) is the first mission dedicated to studying auroral electrojets. These intense electrical currents flow in Earth’s upper atmosphere in both the northern and southern polar regions and are associated with the spectacular auroras (commonly known as the northern and southern lights).

The EZIE mission uses three CubeSats. Each of these small satellites, roughly the size of a carry-on suitcase, carries a compact science instrument to observe the magnetic “fingerprints” of the electrojets.

Lined up like pearls on a string, the EZIE spacecraft will orbit from pole to pole approximately 260 to 370 miles (420 to 590 kilometers) above Earth’s surface.

The EZIE spacecraft do not carry any propulsion to adjust the separation between the three spacecraft. Instead, they use drag. As they travel at about 5 miles (8 kilometers) per second, the spacecraft will carefully rotate to change the atmospheric drag and thereby adjust their separation. This will allow each successive spacecraft to fly over the same region 2 to 10 minutes after the former.

The auroral electrojets flow at roughly 65 miles (100 kilometers) above Earth’s surface, pushing up to 1 million amps of electrical current around the poles.

The EZIE satellites will map the electrojets by observing microwave emission at a frequency of 118 gigahertz from oxygen molecules located about 10 miles (16 kilometers) below the electrojets. The electrojets create a magnetic field that leaves a “fingerprint” in the oxygen’s emission, which EZIE is designed to measure. During every orbit, each EZIE spacecraft will produce a map of the electrojets, detailing their structure. Combining the maps from the three spacecraft will show how the electrojets evolve.

By revealing how the electrojets are structured and evolve, EZIE will not only help scientists understand how these currents connect Earth and the surrounding space, but the data will help researchers create more accurate and powerful models for predicting space weather events.

Insights from EZIE will apply not only to our own planet but also to any magnetized planet in our solar system and beyond.

The EZIE team is also distributing EZIE-Mag magnetometer kits across the United States to allow students and citizen scientists to make their own scientific measurements of the Earth-space electrical current system. Scientists will combine EZIE-Mag data with EZIE measurements made from space to assemble a clear picture of this vast electrical current circuit.

The three EZIE spacecraft are launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Maverick Space Systems.

The mission is scheduled to operate for 18 months.

The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, leads the EZIE mission for NASA. Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram, which will map the electrojets, for each of the three EZIE satellites.

NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) spacecraft are scheduled to launch as part of the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Maverick Space Systems at 2:39 a.m. EDT on Saturday, March 15 (11:39 p.m. PDT on Friday, March 14). The trio of EZIE spacecraft will lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

After launch, EZIE’s three CubeSats will investigate intense electrical currents called electrojets that flow through Earth’s upper atmosphere when auroras (northern and southern lights) glow in the sky. Mapping the electrojets will help create better models for predicting space weather phenomena that can affect our technological society.

NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is set to launch in March 2025.

The mission’s trio of CubeSats will investigate intense electrical currents called electrojets that flow through Earth’s upper atmosphere when auroras (northern and southern lights) glow in the sky. Mapping the electrojets will help create better models for predicting geomagnetic storms and other space weather phenomena that can affect our technological society.

The EZIE spacecraft will lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as part of the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Maverick Space Systems.

After launch, EZIE’s three small satellites will fly in a pearls-on-a-string formation, following each other as they orbit Earth from pole to pole about 350 miles (550 kilometers) overhead. Each spacecraft’s onboard sensor will look down toward the electrojets, which flow about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the ground in an electrified layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the ionosphere.

During every orbit, each EZIE spacecraft will map the electrojets to study their structure. The three spacecraft will fly over the same region 2 to 10 minutes apart from one another, revealing how the electrojets change and helping us better understand the connection between our home planet and the Sun.

The EZIE mission is funded by the Heliophysics Division within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, leads the mission for NASA. Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram, which will map the electrojets, for each of the three satellites.

Learn more.

On Jan. 27, the three spacecraft of NASA’s EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission arrived at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, where they will undergo final preparations for launch. The EZIE mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than March as part of the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX via launch integrator Maverick Space Systems.

After lifting off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg, EZIE’s three CubeSats will fly in formation around Earth to map the auroral electrojets, electric currents that flow in the upper atmosphere near Earth’s polar regions when auroras glow in the sky.

The mission will help better understand the connection between the Sun and Earth, as well as improve predictions of hazardous space weather that can affect our technological society.

The EZIE mission is funded by the Heliophysics Division within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, leads the mission for NASA. Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California built the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram, which will map the electrojets, for each of the three satellites.

Read more from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

In 2025, NASA will launch its first mission to image the magnetic fingerprint of intense electrical currents that flow high in our atmosphere when auroras shimmer above Earth’s poles.

The EZIE (Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer) mission is designed to make groundbreaking measurements of the auroral electrojets, electrical currents about 60 miles (100 kilometers) above the ground in a layer of Earth’s atmosphere called the ionosphere, which separates Earth from surrounding space.

The mission features a trio of CubeSats, or small satellites, with an orbit that goes pole to pole to map the electrojets. Mapping the electrojets can give scientists greater insight into the physics of Earth’s magnetosphere and help create better models for predicting the effects of space weather phenomena such as geomagnetic storms and auroras in the upper atmosphere and at Earth’s surface.

In August, the EZIE team completed its pre-ship review, with NASA confirming that the three spacecraft and their support systems are ready to move to their eventual launch site for liftoff in 2025.

Previously planned for no earlier than 2024, a launch in 2025 gives EZIE the opportunity to make observations during two Northern Hemisphere summers, when EZIE’s measurements can best be coordinated with ground-based instruments and when EZIE can make far more observations of the auroral phenomenon scientists are targeting.

The EZIE mission is funded by the Heliophysics Division within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory designed the EZIE spacecraft and leads and manages the mission for NASA. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory built an instrument called the Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram for each of the three satellites, and Blue Canyon Technologies in Boulder, Colorado, built the CubeSats.