MMS L-1 Media Briefing

Heliophysics is the study of the physical domain dominated by the Sun and its extension into space—the heliosphere. This physical domain includes our Sun and the space environments of Earth and other planets, and stretches out to the region of interstellar space. The Sun’s variability and extended atmosphere drive some of the greatest changes in our local magnetic environment, affecting our own atmosphere, ionosphere, and our climate. Heliophysics is also the underlying science of space weather. Space weather directly affects the safety of humans in space and on Earth by influencing the operation of electrical power grids, communications and navigation systems, gas and oil pipelines, and spacecraft electronics and orbital dynamics.

Credit: NASA/GSFC

Using the entire fleet of solar, heliospheric, magnetospheric, ionospheric, and upper atmospheric missions, and data from planetary spacecraft, NASA operates the Heliophysics System Observatory (HSO) as a distributed observatory to discover the larger scale and/or

coupled processes at work throughout the complex system that makes up our space environment. This distributed observatory has flexibility and capabilities that evolve with each new mission launched. In addition to supplying valued science data, many operating HSO missions provide key observations used to predict space weather. The HSO is a continuously evolving fleet, with each mission providing key inputs from unique vantage points.

Credit: NASA

MMS solves the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. MMS consists of four identical spacecraft that will provide the first three-dimensional views of this fundamental process that occurs throughout our universe. MMS uses Earth’s protective magnetic space environment, the magnetosphere, as a natural laboratory to directly observe how it interacts with the sun’s extended magnetic field, which can result in reconnection. The four MMS spacecraft fly in varying formations through reconnection regions in well under a second, so key sensors on each MMS spacecraft have been designed to take certain measurements of the space environment 100 times faster than any previous mission. Like stretched rubber bands, magnetic fields store energy that is released explosively when the field lines are broken during reconnection. Unlike rubber bands, reconnection can drive particles to nearly the speed of light. Credit: NASA/GSFC

Electron currents in reconnection simulation.

Credit:Dr. Homa Karimabadi, UCSD

MMS orbits viewed from above north pole.

Credit: SwRI

Video of MMS in tetrahedron formation

Credit: NASA/GSFC

Animation and visualization of MMS orbit and tetrahedron formation

Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL

Animation of MMS from separation through boom deployment.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL

Magnetic reconnection in the Earth's magnetosphere.

Images from simulations of magnetic reconnection at 100, 000 km, 500 km, and 100 km.

Credit: NASA

Images of FPI - Dual Plasma Spectrometers

Credit: NASA

The first four completed DES.

Credit: NASA

One of the MMS spacecraft in a thermal vacuum chamber, as another waits for its turn.

Credit: NASA

The four MMS spacecraft in the clean room at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

Credit: NASA

Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.

The MMS spacecraft ready for encapsulation.

Credit: NASA

Animation depicting MMS boom deployment.

Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL

Deployed ADP Boom.

Credit: ATK Systems

Visualization of magnetic reconnection.

Credit: Paul Cassak

Data of the sun from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) showing magnetic reconnection in the sun's atmosphere. The image shows the material at 18 million degrees (Fahrenheit). This material, in the plasma state, tends to follow magnetic field lines, so we effectively see the shapes of magnetic field lines. In this movie, we see the magnetic fields pinch together and move out the top and bottom, which is a tell-tale signature of magnetic reconnection. This shows that reconnection happens in the solar atmosphere. Half way through, data from NASA's RHESSI satellite are overlaid on the SDO data. RHESSI shows the plasma that is at 200 million degrees, revealing that the hottest material is located where the magnetic fields move away from the reconnection site. This shows how important reconnection is for producing energetic charged particles. No audio.

Credit: NASA/GSFC

Data of the sun from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) showing magnetic reconnection in the sun's atmosphere. The image shows the material at 18 million degrees (Fahrenheit). This material, in the plasma state, tends to follow magnetic field lines, so we effectively see the shapes of magnetic field lines. In this movie, we see the magnetic fields pinch together and move out the top and bottom, which is a tell-tale signature of magnetic reconnection. This shows that reconnection happens in the solar atmosphere. Half way through, data from NASA's RHESSI satellite are overlaid on the SDO data. RHESSI shows the plasma that is at 200 million degrees, revealing that the hottest material is located where the magnetic fields move away from the reconnection site. This shows how important reconnection is for producing energetic charged particles.

Credit: Paul Cassak and Michael Shay.