NASA calls for citizen scientists to help study auroras and prevent critical technology disruptions

A NASA live event on Monday called on the public to help collect data for its latest EZIE spacecraft study of aurora electrojets in hopes of preventing potentially devastating electromagnetic technology disruptions to the critical sector.

Broadcast from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, NASA scientists from the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center touted the newly launched mission to investigate, for the first time in detail, these “powerful electric currents” that flow through the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

On March 14th, the space agency’s Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) team deployed a trio of spacecraft into orbit one by one to fly in formation around Earth's polar region where auroras glow in the sky for the next 18 months.

EZIE scientist and project manager Doctor Larry Kopko and Doctor Nelly Mousavi explained the nuances of the study and answered questions submitted by users through social media.

The three small suitcase-sized “CubeSats,” which have since self-reported to be operating normally, are designed to collect data that will map the auroral electrojets in detail to help uncover their structure and evolution – something that has eluded scientists since the mid-1800s when the most intense geomagnetic solar flare storm in history was recorded.

Known as the Carrington Event, Dr. Kopko said the solar flare storm caused an electric surge that damaged and disrupted the telegraph system worldwide.

“We had telegraph operators who had miles and miles of long wires, and all that activity moved south. The high activity above in the rural zone created currents that flowed along those telegraph wires and actually caused them to burn and spark,” he said.

Damage to critical infrastructure could be catastrophic

NASA believes the electromagnetic fingerprinting of these intense currents will allow scientists to predict when and if a severe space weather disturbance may take place – one that Dr. Kopko says could result in a catastrophic technology event with ripple effects worldwide.

“Auroras are just so beautiful, and there are a lot of questions about these currents, their structure, how they form, how they grow, and how they dissipate over time. The questions that we don't have answers to, questions with great societal relevance,” Dr. Kopko said.

The space physicist explained that an aurora electrojet current contains millions of amps only about 60 miles above the ground. And, any current that flows produces a magnetic field, he said.

Comparing a space weather event to tripping a circuit breaker in a house (which is only about 20 amps of electricity), Dr. Kopko said, “If we have a million amps of current that might be changing right above our heads, that drives current on things on the ground, like power lines, power grid sensitive electronics, and especially during strong events, that can cause issues.”

LIVE: We’re talking EZIE, a just-launched trio of satellites that will study powerful electric currents that flow when the aurora glows. This info will help protect the power grid and GPS, as well as astronauts in space. Tag your questions #AskNASA! https://t.co/W7LjmYEbDi

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Rapid changes in these currents can cause damage to critical infrastructure—especially the electric grid—highlighting the importance of being prepared, according to the state of Arizona’s Emergency Information network (Azein).

“Space weather can produce electromagnetic fields that induce extreme currents in wires, disrupting power lines, and even causing wide-spread blackouts. Severe space weather also produces solar energetic particles, which can damage satellites used for commercial communications, global positioning, intelligence gathering, and weather forecasting,” Azein said.

Here is a full list of possible space weather-caused technology disruptions from Azein.

• Loss of water and wastewater distribution systems
• Loss of perishable foods and medications
• Loss of heating/air conditioning and electrical lighting systems
• Loss of computer systems, telephone systems, and communications systems (including disruptions in airline flights, satellite networks and GPS services)
• Loss of public transportation systems
• Loss of fuel distribution systems and fuel pipelines
• Loss of all electrical systems that do not have back-up power

Although these events are typically rare – the last auroral electrojet spike triggered by a solar wind pressure pulse took place from Canada to Arizona on April 24th, 2023 – one impact study done by the MITRE Corporation from 2011 predicted that in a worst-case scenario, a severe solar storm could cause catastrophic damage to the US electric grid.

The US Department of Homeland Security sponsored white paper said that a storm destroying 300 EHV transformers could leave “130 million people without power for months to years while damaged major grid components are slowly replaced.”

Furthermore, a 2022 article from Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences states, “The time it would take to repair damage to the UK power grid system from an extreme geomagnetic storm would be weeks to months.” That’s in addition to the estimated $7 billion to $42 billion per day in financial losses experienced worldwide.

Citizen scientists wanted

Finally, NASA is looking for space enthusiasts and students to join its study as a citizen scientist.

“What's a citizen scientist? They are members of the public, like you, who collaborate with professional scientists by helping collect data about our world, and they make a big impact,” Dr. Mousavi said.

As part of the ‘job,’ the citizen scientist will get something called a “magnetometer maker kit” (called EZIE Mag for short) to help collect data.

Dr. Mousavi says not to be intimidated. “NASA provides everything you need to participate and can be used by learners of all ages. Just like a professional engineer, you will build an instrument to collect valuable information about the world around you over the course of a year,” she said.

The data collected will provide essential context for the measurements that the EZIE satellites are making high above, helping them map the electrical currents.

The citizen scientists will also be given specific activities, education, and design challenges to “help learners make EZIE Mag their own, " which is said to take about an hour.

According to NASA, the magnetometer is a scientific instrument that helps to monitor the strength, direction, and any changes in the magnetic field that the learner can measure. It is also easy to use.

“So our scientists are measuring the magnetic field from the above. And the students, they can make the measurements from the ground and submit all their data to the EZIE website,” Dr. Mousavi said.

The learning scientists will also be able to connect with EZIE researchers through interactive webinars and a Global Pen Pal program.

The doctor said she had the device set up outside in her backyard at one point during an electromagnetic storm while it was still being tested.

“I had it on the screen, and I took a picture of it and compared it with the proper USGS magnetometer from Virginia, and they were just almost identical. And I really excitedly texted the science team and said, look, we can do science in our backyard. It's actually a really wonderful little project,” she said.

For more information on NASA’s EZIEmag program, click here.