This story from the University of Iowa Graduate College tells how graduate students Connor Feltman (now a postdoctoral research fellow/scholar) and Allison Flores contribute to the TRACERS mission, which seeks to answer long-standing questions about space weather.
Do you remember last May when Iowans were able to see the Northern Lights from their own neighborhoods? The TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) project looks at some of the most fundamental questions involving the interactions of the Earth’s and Sun’s magnetic fields, including the aurora.
Studying this interaction has important implications beyond the Northern Lights. Sponsored by NASA, the TRACERS project is the largest externally funded research project in UI history.
TRACERS consists of two satellites which will fly at about the same altitude, following each other while orbiting Earth. The project seeks to answer long-standing questions about space weather.
“The TRACERS project is a double satellite mission that's going to fly through the region of Earth's magnetic field called the cusp,” sixth-year doctoral student in Physics and Astronomy, Connor Feltman explains. “TRACERS seeks to understand how Earth’s geomagnetic field interacts with the magnetic field that come from the Sun.”
The cusp is a funnel-shaped region near the north and south poles of the magnetosphere, the space around Earth influenced by its magnetic field. Specifically, TRACERS looks at reconnection, or how the magnetic fields of the Earth and solar wind interact, in the cusp.
The cusp is a less explored region of space that contains lots of information about the solar-terrestrial magnetic interaction. By flying two satellites, we can understand how variations in the sun's reconnection change spatially or temporally, or some combination of the two,” Feltman says.
Feltman’s research focus is experimental space plasma physics of the aurora, and his role in the TRACERS project is to help develop the ACE electron instrument.
“The University of Iowa builds a large portion of the instruments for this satellite,” Feltman says. “Along the way, I learned all of the little ins and outs that helped me debug, fix, and develop some of the calibration programs used on the ACE.”
All hands on deck
TRACERS demands expertise within many disciplines. Allison Flores, a third-year doctoral student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, ensures that there is no satellite interference in the data collected by TRACERS.
“We use magnetometers to capture magnetic field data from space,” Flores explains. “The magnetometers are on a boom attached to the satellite. When they are too close to the satellite, they pick up unnecessary noise. My job is to get rid of that satellite interference.”
TRACERS is a two-satellite project, and Flores’s work is designed to make sure that the data retrieved is reliable.
To approach this problem, TRACERS collaborates with various partners including Millenium Space Systems, which manufactures the satellites. “The satellite has its own magnetic field. We visited Millenium to measure the interference generated by different components of the satellite during the assembly phase,” Flores describes.
The two-satellite aspect makes TRACERS a particularly unique project.
“In the past, we’ve used a sounding rocket or one satellite to collect data at one point in time and space,” Flores explains. “Now, we're going to have two satellites that will collect two separate sets of data points. The best way to find patterns is to have a larger database, aiding in scientific discovery.”
Lasting impact
The TRACERS project started with the work of Principal Investigator, Craig Kletzing. Dr. Kletzing passed away in August 2023.
“In my experience, there are few individuals who are as honest, kind, and giving with their time and knowledge as Craig was,” Feltman says. “I think the longest-lasting impact he'll have on those around him is not necessarily his science, for which he was fundamental, but from his personal character and modeling of how to present yourself as a scientific expert.”
Dr. Kletzing’s work through TRACERS will have lasting impact on students like Feltman and Flores as they finish their doctoral studies and enter the field through academia or industry.
“Working on TRACERS has been an important experience for me,” Flores describes. “I think that it will be a great to point to it and say, ‘Look at what I've been able to do. I made an impact here. What can I do for you?’ when I move on to the next steps in my career.”
Feltman highlights the unique experience of working on such a prestigious project. “Only in places like the University of Iowa, where space physics in the United States was born, does a graduate student get such opportunities to be so hands-on with the fundamental science questions that NASA has decided to fund,” Feltman says.
TRACERS' launch date is set for April 2025.
Written by: Lauren Linder
