NASA has thrown rockets into the northern lights, and they have caught the electricity that is hidden inside them.
NASA Launches Two Missions to Study Auroral Forces
NASA has already managed to launch two sounding rockets in Alaska in an attempt to examine the intense electrical forces that cause the appearance of the northern lights. The Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor and the Geophysical Non-Equilibrium Ionospheric System Science mission, abbreviated as GNEISS (pronounced as nice), both were launched out of the Poker Flat Research Range, south of Fairbanks.
The Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor was launched on February 9, 3:29 a.m. AKST (7.29 a.m. EST) and reached an altitude of approximately 224 miles (360 kilometers) . Principal investigator Marilia Samara stated that all instruments, such as technology demonstrations, work as intended and the team was able to get quality data.
It was followed by the 2-rocket GNEISS mission which launched back-to-back at 1:19:00 a.m. and 1:19:30 a.m. AKST (5:19:00 a.m. and 5:19:30 a.m. EST). It attained a maximum height of around 198.3 miles (319.06 kilometers) and 198.8 miles (319.94 kilometers) respectively. Principal investigator Kristina Lynch said that all the ground stations, subpayloads and instrument booms performed as anticipated and that scientists were delighted by the operation of the launch and the data collected so far.
The Secret Electric Current in the Northern lights.
Auroras are seen when the electrical currents move in the space into the upper atmosphere of the earth. When these charged particles collide with the gases available in the atmosphere, they produce the well known blazing lights of ribbons. This is just like electricity passing through a wire in order to open a light bulb.
The glow is, however, only half of a very big electrical circuit. In a circuit, current should have a source of termination. When the electrons are pouring down to the atmosphere in order to form an aurora, the others have to be returned to the space to complete the circuit.
The incoming particle beams are comparatively concentrated such as current flowing in a cable. The outflow is, however, much more turbulent. Once the light display is made, the electrons are dispersed in a wide array of directions. Their movement is affected by collision, changing winds, variation of pressure, and electric and magnetic field. With time, they locate ways back into space, and the circuit of the auras is closed in a very complicated and ever evolving world.
GNEISS Produces 3D CT Style Scan of Auroral Currents.
Scientists need to map the distribution of this returning current in the atmosphere to get to know how the aurora works in true sense. It is a significant technical task to trace a lot of potential paths simultaneously.
It is not merely of interest to us how the rocket flies, said Kristina Lynch, the principal investigator of GNEISS and a professor of Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. We would like to know how the current flows through the atmosphere downwards.
GNEISS is the answer to that question that Lynch designed. The mission creates a three-dimensional image of the electrical structure of the aurora using two rockets and a network of ground receivers which work together to create the picture.
It is basically a CT scan of the plasma underneath the aurora, said Lynch.
The two rockets were fired almost at the same time, and they flew parallel through the same spectacle, at scarcely different angles. Four subpayloads were released by each rocket in order to measure several points in the glowing region.
The rockets as they flew over sent radio signals in the surrounding plasma to ground receivers. The signals were distorted on their way by the plasma as in a medical CT scan by the body tissues. Using such changes scientists can calculate the density of plasma and find out in which places the flow of the electrical current is possible. The outcome is a massive three-dimensional scan of the aura surrounding.
The Importance of Auroral Currents to Space Weather.
The study of auroral currents is not merely a blanking out of a gap in the sciences. These electrical flows determine the distribution of energy in space to the upper atmosphere of the earth. When postulated currents become diffused, they warm the air around them and cause winds as well as turbulence that may act on satellites passing through such a path.
Auroras have been studied on the ground by the ground researchers over years. In March 2025, NASA launched the EZIE satellite mission that measures the electrical currents in the aurora at an altitude. These measurements taken by satellites and the ground combined with direct measurements of the rocket allow scientists to have a more comprehensive view of the system.
In case we are able to combine the in situ measurements with the ground-based imagery then we will be able to learn how to read the aurora, Lynch explained.
Black Auroras and Current Reversal
On the same launch window, the Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor was also flown by NASA. This sounding rocket targeted some strange dark regions of the auroras which are referred to as black auroras. Scientists are of the opinion that these areas could be where electrical currents suddenly change direction.
The mission was the second attempt of its launch since a 2025 mission had been postponed because of poor weather and science conditions. Since the successful flight is already a history, scientists are examining new data to gain a better insight into the way these dark regions can be integrated into the overall aurorial circuit.
Conclusion
Auroras are created when space collides with the atmosphere of the earth. These spectacular effects are produced by electric currents and charged particles and a myriad of collisions. Sounding rockets offer an unusual chance to fly straight through them putting the instruments right where the processes are happening. NASA is transforming brief bursts of light into greater knowledge of the nature of space weather on our planet through brief and precisely timed missions.
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