Millennium Spacecraft for NASA TRACERS Mission Moves to Testing Phase
"TRACERS will ultimately inform how we understand space weather," said
The team is now integrating the instruments that will study changes in the magnetic and electric field, plasma particles and waves once in orbit. Following integration, the next phase is environmental testing prior to delivering the spacecraft to Vandenberg Space Force Base.
"TRACERS will determine fundamental properties of the process that connects the solar wind to near-Earth space and ultimately drives space weather," said
Once launched and in a sun-synchronous orbit, Millennium will begin on-orbit mission operations as the TRACERS spacecraft travels along Earth's polar cusp region, the funnel shaped regions of the Earth's magnetic field that open over the north and south magnetic poles.
"The TRACERS Instrument Suite incorporates five different instruments from four different institutions, each presenting unique accommodation," said
The data collected will focus on magnetic reconnection and cusp electrodynamics – two crucial mechanisms driving space weather. By examining the interactions between solar wind and the magnetosphere in the cusp region, TRACERS aims to enhance the understanding of how Earth's magnetosphere functions and how it reacts to variations in solar wind. This research will improve the ability to forecast space weather events, which can significantly affect technology and infrastructure on Earth.
TRACERS is led by the
About Millennium Space Systems
Millennium Space Systems, a
Contact:
VP Marketing
dana.carroll@millennium-space.com
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/millennium-spacecraft-for-nasa-tracers-mission-moves-to-testing-phase-302302248.html
SOURCE Millennium Space Systems