Ionospheric System Science – In the near future, NASA plans to send a mission from Alaska to detect the electrical currents behind the aurora, also known as the northern lights, Aurora Borealis. This mission named Geophysical Non-Equilibrium Ionospheric System Science (GNEISS) will be done with the help of two rockets and technology like CT scan. The mission will originate from Poker Flat in Alaska, with a launch date scheduled for early February 2026.

Mapping the Aurora Streams According to NASA, auroras are created by electrons falling from space, which light up the atmosphere like a light bulb. For electrons to illuminate the aurora, they must follow a circular path, and the path is randomly directed.

The GNEISS mission plans to overcome the problem by sending twin rockets through the auroral arc, each deploying four sub-payloads and sending radio messages to receivers on the ground. Plasma interferes with messages, just as tissues in the body affect the rays from a computer tomography scanner, and this effect is analyzed to determine the density and direction of the electrons. Implications for space weather The study of auroral streams plays an important role in understanding space weather phenomena.

The currents direct energy transmission into the upper atmosphere, resulting in heating and turbulence that affect satellite operations. Scientists aim to develop a method to predict aurora effects by combining GNEISS measurements with data from NASA’s EZIE satellite, which launches in March 2025. NASA will send another rocket mission to investigate the mysterious “black auroras,” which appear as dark areas that scientists believe indicate current flow reversal points.