The University of Iowa has received nearly $1.7 million from NASA to fund the OCHRE student-led sounding rocket mission that will study cusp dynamics in the Earth’s magnetosphere and help train the next generation of space physicists and instrumentalists.

Associate Professor Allison Jaynes is the principal investigator (PI) of the mission, which was proposed by the late Prof. Craig Kletzing. The mission will be largely led and managed by PhD students working from multiple institutions, with guidance from a postdoc at Iowa and several senior scientists, including researchers at UC Berkeley and Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The students will be responsible for many aspects of the final mission, including serving as instrument leads, deputy PI, and supervising undergraduate students in flight build and instrument calibration.

The science goal of Observing Cusp High-altitude Reconnection and Electrodynamics (OCHRE) is to investigate the structure of the dynamic cusp, a specific region in Earth’s magnetosphere where the planet’s magnetic field lines converge. This area, known as the cusp, is crucial because it allows solar wind particles to enter the magnetosphere, influencing space weather and Earth’s magnetic environment. Researchers aim to understand how this region behaves and changes, especially in response to solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field variations.

OCHRE will be launched from Andøya Space Center, Norway to coincide with a flyover from the Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) spacecraft mission, also led by the University of Iowa. The TRA-SR payload will consist of a suite of instruments to address three primary science questions related to the signatures of magnetic reconnection in the cusp. Magnetic reconnection is an explosive interaction between the Earth’s and the Sun’s magnetic field lines that produces a cascade of effects that can be observed throughout near-Earth space. OCHRE will address questions about the low-altitude nature of the cusp that TRACERS alone cannot determine, thus adding to the science enhancement of the main TRACERS mission and the goals of NASA’s Heliophysics Division.

Jaynes explained that OCHRE offers a great hands-on learning experience for university students. They get to work on everything from designing and building to testing and launching space equipment. Plus, they learn how to analyze data collected from these tools while they’re in space, specifically in the Low Earth Orbit area.

“This aligns closely with NASA's aspiration to make best use of the expertise and resources available in large missions to recruit and mentor future students, space scientists, and aerospace engineers and managers,” Jaynes said. “Overall, the mission will represent a ground-breaking student-led and student-managed mission format (with guidance from senior personnel) consisting of a diverse student group.”