Produced by: Mohsin Shaikh
Credit: NASA
NASA’s EZIE mission launches to map auroral electrojets—vast electrical currents behind the shimmering lights of Earth's polar skies during solar storms.
Credit: NASA
Blasting off on a SpaceX Falcon 9, EZIE’s trio of satellites now orbits Earth, ready to unlock the secrets of space weather from above.
Credit: NASA
Three CubeSats fly in perfect formation, trailing each other minutes apart, to capture a moving map of auroral currents swirling in Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Solar storms send massive energy bursts toward Earth—EZIE will measure how these create glowing auroras and powerful electrojets affecting GPS, power grids, and satellites.
Instead of engines, EZIE uses atmospheric drag to adjust satellite positions—an innovative method to fine-tune orbit spacing and reduce mission cost.
For 18 months, EZIE will observe how space weather evolves, providing critical insights to forecast and reduce the impacts of solar storms on modern technology.
Students and teachers can join EZIE’s mission with EZIE-Mag kits—personal magnetometers to measure Earth’s magnetic currents and contribute real science data.
Though auroras light up the sky, the electrojets behind them are invisible—EZIE’s advanced sensors will reveal how these powerful currents shape our space environment.
Beyond Earth, studying electrojets helps understand magnetic environments of other planets—offering clues to space weather across the solar system and distant exoplanets.