NASA Launches Twin Satellites to Study Space Weather Around Earth
In a significant step toward understanding the forces that influence Earth’s space environment, NASA has successfully launched the TRACERS mission—Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites—on July 23, 2025. The twin satellites were launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, marking a major milestone in NASA’s effort to improve predictions of space weather and its potential impact on Earth.
The TRACERS mission focuses on studying a complex phenomenon known as magnetic reconnection, which occurs when magnetic field lines in space rapidly break and reconnect. This process releases enormous amounts of energy and plays a key role in space weather events, such as geomagnetic storms that can interfere with satellites, disrupt radio communications, knock out GPS systems, and even damage power grids on Earth.
These twin satellites are designed to fly through the northern polar cusp, a funnel-shaped region near the Earth’s magnetic poles where solar wind particles enter the planet’s magnetic field. By collecting data from this area, scientists hope to better understand how the Sun’s energy interacts with Earth’s magnetosphere.
Each of the two satellites carries a set of scientific instruments to measure electric and magnetic fields, plasma waves, and high-energy particles. Uniquely, the satellites will fly one behind the other in close formation. This tandem configuration allows them to detect how conditions change over short distances and brief periods of time, capturing fine-scale details of magnetic reconnection events.
The data collected by TRACERS will not only enhance our understanding of fundamental space physics but also help improve the accuracy of space weather forecasts. Better forecasting is essential, especially in an era where modern infrastructure such as communication networks, satellites, and power systems is increasingly vulnerable to space weather disturbances.
TRACERS is part of NASA’s Heliophysics Explorers Program, which includes small- and medium-class missions that address major science questions related to the Sun and its influence on the solar system. The mission is led by David Miles at the University of Iowa, with spacecraft built by Millennium Space Systems, a Boeing company.
This launch comes at a time when the scientific community is increasingly aware of the need to monitor and predict space weather. A major solar storm in 2024 disrupted flights, agriculture, and satellite operations globally, highlighting the growing risks posed by solar activity.
By providing unprecedented insights into how energy from the Sun is transferred into Earth’s magnetic environment, the TRACERS satellites are expected to revolutionize our understanding of space weather and enhance global readiness for future solar storms. With these twin spacecraft now in orbit, NASA is poised to unlock new discoveries about the dynamic relationship between the Sun and Earth, benefiting both science and society.