NASA's Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) mission is scheduled for launch on July 22, 2025. The mission aims to enhance our understanding of space weather by studying the interaction between the solar wind and Earth's magnetosphere.
TRACERS consists of two identical satellites that will orbit Earth in tandem, one following the other. These spacecraft are designed to investigate magnetic reconnection—a process where solar wind interacts with Earth's magnetic field, leading to energy transfer that can impact space-based infrastructure and communication systems.
The mission is led by David Miles at the University of Iowa and managed by the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. NASA's Heliophysics Explorers Program Office at the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides mission oversight to the project for the agency's Heliophysics Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Understanding magnetic reconnection is crucial for predicting and mitigating the effects of space weather on technological systems. By observing these interactions, TRACERS aims to provide valuable data that can inform strategies to protect satellites and communication networks from potential disruptions caused by solar activity.