MMS Narrated Orbit
Scientist John Dorelli explains the MMS mission's orbit and why the four spacecraft fly in a tetrahedron formation.
On its journey, MMS will observe a little-understood, but universal phenomenon called magnetic reconnection, responsible for dramatic re-shaping of the magnetic environment near Earth, often sending intense amounts of energy and fast-moving particles off in a new direction. Not only is this a fundamental physical process that occurs throughout the universe, it is also one of the drivers of space weather events at Earth. To truly understanding the process, requires four identical spacecraft to track how such reconnection events move across and through any given space in 3D.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
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Animators
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC)
- Walt Feimer (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
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Video editor
- Genna Duberstein (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Scientist
- John Charles Dorelli (NASA/GSFC)
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Producer
- Genna Duberstein (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
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Narration
- John Charles Dorelli (NASA/GSFC)
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Narrator
- John Charles Dorelli (NASA/GSFC)
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Project support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Tapes
This visualization originally appeared on the following tapes:-
MMS Narrated Orbit
(ID: 2014018)
Friday, May 16, 2014 at 4:00AM
Produced by - Will Duquette
Related Pages
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ID: 12239 Produced Video
MMS First Results
Read moreThis short video outlines the MMS mission and its first results. Since it launched, MMS has made more than 4,000 trips through the magnetic boundaries around Earth, each time gathering information about the way the magnetic fields and particles move. A surprising result was that at the moment of interconnection between the sun’s magnetic field lines and those of Earth the crescents turned abruptly so that the electrons flowed along the field lines. By watching these electron tracers, MMS made the first observation of the predicted breaking and interconnection of magnetic fields in space. Credit: NASA/GSFCWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel. || mmsthumb.jpg (1280x720) [139.4 KB] || mmsthumb_print.jpg (1024x576) [161.8 KB] || mmsthumb_searchweb.png (320x180) [104.3 KB] || mmsthumb_web.png (320x180) [104.3 KB] || mmsthumb_thm.png (80x40) [6.8 KB] || 12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2.mov (1920x1080) [4.2 GB] || PRORES_B-ROLL_12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2_prores.mov (1280x720) [2.2 GB] || YOUTUBE_HQ_12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2_youtube_hq.mov (1920x1080) [1.1 GB] || 12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2_appletv.m4v (1280x720) [76.9 MB] || 12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2.webm (1920x1080) [18.1 MB] || 12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2_appletv_subtitles.m4v (1280x720) [77.0 MB] || 12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2.en_US.srt [3.0 KB] || 12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2.en_US.vtt [3.0 KB] || 12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2_lowres.mp4 (480x272) [21.6 MB] || 12239_MMS_First_ResultsV2_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [26.3 MB] ||
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ID: 10204 Produced Video
MMS Mission Overview
Read moreWatch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here. || missionoverview_print.jpg (1024x576) [146.3 KB] || missionoverview.jpg (1280x720) [125.0 KB] || missionoverview_thm.png (80x40) [16.6 KB] || missionoverview_web.png (320x180) [72.7 KB] || missionoverview_searchweb.png (320x180) [72.7 KB] || missionoverview_web.jpg (320x180) [28.5 KB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_appletv_subtitles.m4v (960x540) [117.8 MB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_youtube_hq.mov (1280x720) [183.1 MB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_appletv.webm (960x540) [31.6 MB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_appletv.m4v (960x540) [117.9 MB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_1280x720.wmv (1280x720) [136.2 MB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_prores.mov (1280x720) [4.3 GB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_nasaportal.mov (640x360) [109.7 MB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_ipod_lg.m4v (640x360) [47.2 MB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER.en_US.vtt [5.6 KB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER.en_US.srt [5.6 KB] || G2014-103_MMS_Mission_OverviewMASTER_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [25.0 MB] ||
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ID: 11700 Produced Video
Exploring Earth's Magnetism
Read moreIn March 2015, NASA will launch four spacecraft to study how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect—a process known as magnetic reconnection. Magnetic reconnections take place on the day and night side of the planet and are caused by the interaction of Earth’s magnetic field with charged particles released from the sun called the solar wind. The four spacecraft, each identically engineered, make up the Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, mission. Flying in a pyramid-shaped configuration, the spacecraft will orbit Earth and pass through areas known to be reconnection sites. Each reconnection event unleashes a massive burst of energy that can accelerate particles within Earth’s protective magnetic environment, known as the magnetosphere, to nearly the speed of light. Sensors onboard the spacecraft will measure the energy and movement of charged particles during an event, providing scientists with the first three-dimensional look at this phenomenon. Watch the video to learn more. ||
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ID: 11251 Produced Video
MMS Science Overview: The Mysteries of MMS
Read moreScientists Michael Hesse and John Dorelli explain the science objectives of the MMS mission. || MMSSciOvThumb720.jpg (1280x720) [60.9 KB] || MMSSciOvThumb720_print.jpg (1024x576) [79.2 KB] || MMSSciOvThumb720_thm.png (80x40) [17.9 KB] || MMSSciOvThumb720_web.png (320x180) [67.2 KB] || MMSSciOvThumb720_searchweb.png (320x180) [67.2 KB] || MMSSciOvThumb720_web.jpg (320x180) [27.4 KB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_appletv_subtitles.m4v (960x540) [104.8 MB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_720x480.webmhd.webm (960x540) [35.1 MB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_prores.mov (1280x720) [3.4 GB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_appletv.m4v (960x540) [104.9 MB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_youtube_hq.mov (1920x1080) [217.4 MB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_1280x720.wmv (1280x720) [117.5 MB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_ipod_lg.m4v (640x360) [41.6 MB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4.en_US.vtt [5.8 KB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4.en_US.srt [5.8 KB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_720x480.wmv (720x480) [84.9 MB] || G2014-011_MMS_Science_OverviewMASTERV4_ipod_sm.mp4 (320x240) [22.2 MB] ||
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ID: 20210 Animation
MMS Spacecraft Animation
Read moreThe Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission is a Solar Terrestrial Probes mission comprising four identically instrumented spacecraft that will use Earth’s magnetosphere as a laboratory to study the microphysics of three fundamental plasma processes: magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence. These processes occur in all astrophysical plasma systems but can be studied in situ only in our solar system and most efficiently only in Earth’s magnetosphere, where they control the dynamics of the geospace environment and play an important role in the processes known as “space weather.”Learn more about MMS at www.nasa.gov/mms ||
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ID: 3605 Visualization
Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) Dayside Orbit Animation for the Preliminary Design Review (PDR)
Read moreThis visualization uses simulated ephemerides to show the proposed orbits of the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) during the "dayside magnetosheath/magnetopause" orbit phase. The movie initially shows the general orientation of the orbit with respect to the Earth, Moon, and Sun. It then zooms in to "ride" along with the spacecraft. We then zoom in even closer to show that there are actually four spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation. Finally, we see how the 4 spacecraft skim the magnetosheath such that, occasionally, some of the spacecraft are inside (e.g., MMS #1) and some are outside (e.g., MMS #2, #3, and #4) of the magnetosheath boundary.This visualization was created in support of the MMS Preliminary Design Review (PDR) which was held May 4 - 7, 2009. ||
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ID: 3606 Visualization
Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) Nightside Orbit Animation for the Preliminary Design Review (PDR)
Read moreThis visualization uses simulated ephemerides to show the proposed orbits of the Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission (MMS) during the "nightside" orbit phase. The movie initially shows the general orientation of the orbit with respect to the Earth, Moon, and Sun. It then moves in towards the Earth revealing Earth's magnetic field. The camera then moves down towards the dark side of the Earth showing how MMS will fly through the tail of the magnetosphereThis visualization was created in support of the MMS Preliminary Design Review (PDR) which was held May 4th through May 7th of 2009. ||
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ID: 20098 Animation
MMS orbit animation
Read moreThis animation shows the orbits of Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, a Solar-Terrestrial Probe mission comprising of four identically instrumented spacecraft that will study the Earth's magnetosphere. ||
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