Missions
TRACERS
TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites), consisting of two identical satellites that will orbit Earth in tandem (one following the other), will help answer long-standing questions key to understanding space weather, particularly how the Sun transfers energy, mass, and momentum to near-Earth space.
ICI-5bis
ICI-5bis will study plasma turbulence and irregularities in the auroral ionosphere as a contribution to the international Grand Challenge Initiative – MLT (Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere).
ACES-II
This mission launched two rockets into an aurora to measure the interaction between solar magnetic particles and the Earth’s magnetic field. The rockets were launched in Andøya, Norway in 2022.
ICI-5
The ICI-5 mission launched on a NASA sounding rocket from a Norwegian launch site on Nov. 26, 2019. The mission investigated Earth's polar cusps.
ICI-4
The combination of American electron clouds and Norwegian northern lights spells trouble for navigation and communication in the Northern regions. The ICI-4 mission helped provide knowledge to predict the weather in space.
Instrumentation Projects
CHIMERA Hybrid Magnetometer
This project involves designing and building a magnetic field detector, called a magnetometer, that can operate on a new generation of satellites that are as small as a loaf of bread.
e-POP
The Enhanced Polar Outflow Probe (e‑POP) is a research payload on the CASSIOPE spacecraft that is collecting new data on space storms and associated plasma outflows from the Earth’s ionosphere.
CABOOM
Booms are used to keep magnetic field instruments at a distance from the rocket or satellite. Booms are small and need to be tested in microgravity.
Testing Centers
The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers trained support and operational staff able to develop fixturing, integration, and test plans to meet your project needs.
Services include wide temperature range vacuum testing, vibration testing, mass testing, thermal testing, and EMI/EMC Testing.
Magnetic Furnace
This furnace is used to manufacture a critical space-instrument component called a ring core, which is central to the functioning of a fluxgate magnetometer, an instrument used for measuring low-frequency magnetic fields.
Read more in this Iowa Now article.
Thermal Vacuum Test Chamber
The chamber is used to testing of spacecraft components under simulated environmental space conditions such as cold or high temperatures.
News
Study discovers electromagnetic waves can make the northern lights glow brighter
NASA Launches Mission to Study Earth’s Magnetic Shield
Iowa researchers study ionosphere’s role in aurora
Pathfinder Project Highlighted in NASA Heliophysics Report
