THEMIS & ARTEMIS mission page @ NASA\n
THEMIS & ARTEMIS mission page @ UC/Berkeley", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 371497, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/themis/#media_group_371497", "widget": "Tile gallery", "title": "THEMIS Science", "caption": "", "description": "Visualizations & animations related to THEMIS science results.", "items": [ { "id": 411866, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 13687, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13687/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA Spacecraft Uncover Mystery Behind Auroral Beads", "description": "A special type of aurora, draped east-west across the night sky like a glowing pearl necklace, is helping scientists better understand the science of auroras and their powerful drivers out in space. Known as auroral beads, these lights often show up just before large auroral displays, which are caused by electrical storms in space called substorms. Until now, scientists weren’t sure if auroral beads are somehow connected to other auroral displays as a phenomenon in space that precedes substorms, or if they are caused by disturbances closer to Earth’s atmosphere.But powerful new computer models, combined with observations from NASA’s Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms – THEMIS – mission, have provided the first direct evidence of the events in space that lead to the appearance of these beads, and demonstrated the important role they play in our local space environment. || ", "release_date": "2020-08-14T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2020-08-14T09:18:15-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 383383, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013600/a013687/13687_AuroralBeads_YouTube.00320_print.jpg", "filename": "13687_AuroralBeads_YouTube.00320_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Complete transcript available.Music credit: “Intrigues and Plots” and “Repetitive Motion” by Laurent Dury [SACEM] from Universal Production Music Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } }, { "id": 411867, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 12040, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12040/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "NASA Observes Auroras Across Canada", "description": "These aurora images were taken from the ground looking up with a network of all-sky cameras spread across Canada, studying auroras in collaboration with NASA’s Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, or THEMIS, mission. Taking images of aurora from the ground in conjunction with satellite data taken from above the atmosphere gives scientists a more comprehensive picture of how and why the aurora form. The ground-based camera network is also observing this week’s auroras. The aurora data is provided courtesy of S. Mende at University California Berkeley and E. Donovan at the University of Calgary, logistical support in fielding and data retrieval from the ground-based stations is provided by the Canadian Space Agency. The array of aurora images is funded by NSF in support of GIMNAST through grant AGS-1004736.Credit: NASA/CSA/University of California, Berkeley/University of Calgary/NSF || Storm_0386.jpg (1944x1080) [1.4 MB] || Storm_0386_print.jpg (1024x568) [476.9 KB] || Storm_0386_searchweb.png (180x320) [150.3 KB] || Storm_0386_thm.png (80x40) [33.8 KB] || 1944x1080_16x9_20p (1944x1080) [128.0 KB] || Auroras_Across_Canada-MPEG4_1944x1080_24.mp4 (1944x1080) [54.0 MB] || Auroras_Across_Canada_ProRes_1944x1080_24.webm (1944x1080) [10.3 MB] || Auroras_Across_Canada_ProRes_1944x1080_24.mov (1944x1080) [1.4 GB] || Auroras_Across_Canada-H264_Best_1944x1080_24.mov (1944x1080) [658.5 MB] || Auroras_Across_Canada-H264_Good_1944x1080_24.mov (1944x1080) [130.4 MB] || Auroras_Across_Canada.hwshow [223 bytes] || ", "release_date": "2015-11-04T16:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2024-10-10T00:16:30.230056-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 438139, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012000/a012040/Storm_0386.jpg", "filename": "Storm_0386.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "These aurora images were taken from the ground looking up with a network of all-sky cameras spread across Canada, studying auroras in collaboration with NASA’s Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, or THEMIS, mission. Taking images of aurora from the ground in conjunction with satellite data taken from above the atmosphere gives scientists a more comprehensive picture of how and why the aurora form. The ground-based camera network is also observing this week’s auroras. The aurora data is provided courtesy of S. Mende at University California Berkeley and E. Donovan at the University of Calgary, logistical support in fielding and data retrieval from the ground-based stations is provided by the Canadian Space Agency. The array of aurora images is funded by NSF in support of GIMNAST through grant AGS-1004736.Credit: NASA/CSA/University of California, Berkeley/University of Calgary/NSF", "width": 1944, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2099520 } } }, { "id": 411868, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 11309, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11309/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Several NASA Spacecraft Track Energy Through Space", "description": "Taking advantage of an unprecedented alignment of eight satellites through the vast magnetic environment that surrounds Earth in space, including NASA's ARTEMIS and THEMIS, scientists now have comprehensive details of the energy's journey through a process that forms the aurora, called a substorm. Their results showed that small events unfolding over the course of a millisecond can result in energy flows that last up to half an hour and cover an area 10 times larger than Earth.Trying to understand how gigantic explosions on the sun can create space weather effects involves tracking energy from the original event all the way to Earth. It's not unlike keeping tabs on a character in a play with many costume changes, because the energy changes form frequently along its journey: magnetic energy causes eruptions that lead to kinetic energy as particles hurtle away, or thermal energy as the particles heat up. Near Earth, the energy can change through all these various forms once again.Most of the large and small features of substorms take place largely in the portion of Earth's magnetic environment called the magnetotail. Earth sits inside a large magnetic bubble called the magnetosphere. As Earth orbits around the sun, the solar wind from the sun streams past the bubble, stretching it outward into a teardrop. The magnetotail is the long point of the teardrop trailing out to more than 1 million miles on the night side of Earth. The moon orbits Earth much closer, some 240,000 miles away, crossing in and out of the magnetotail. || ", "release_date": "2013-09-26T14:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:51:50.074331-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 463161, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011300/a011309/THM-DF-20120703-06.currentEarthward.00975000677_print.jpg", "filename": "THM-DF-20120703-06.currentEarthward.00975000677_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This short video features commentary by David Sibeck, project scientist for the THEMIS mission, discussing a visualization of reconnection fronts.Simulation courtesy of J. Raeder/UNH. Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } }, { "id": 411869, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 4088, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4088/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Reconnection Fronts - What the Models Say...", "description": "Mathematical models of Earth's magnetosphere have become increasingly more complex and accurate. They have sufficient detail to illustrate many small-scale phenomena.In this simulation run of the Geospace General Circulation Model (GGCM) we see new details that have been observed by in situ satellites. As the solar wind is deflected around Earth's magnetosphere (the 'bubble' of plasma surrounding Earth held by Earth's magnetic field), plasma flows within the bubble can change. In the graphics below, physical variables such as magnetic field and electric currents are plotted. With these variables, we overlay the net flow of the plasma (arrows), subjected to selection criteria to separate flows of plasma away from Earth and towards Earth. Green arrows are low-speed flows (below about 150 kilometers/second), while red arrows correspond to high-speed plasmal flows (about 300 kilometers/second and higher). || ", "release_date": "2013-09-26T14:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:51:49.905200-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 463972, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004000/a004088/THM-DF-20120703-06.Bz.009750.png", "filename": "THM-DF-20120703-06.Bz.009750.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Magnetic field in x-y plane (approximately Earth equatorial plane) but pointed in the z-direction. Purple has the field pointed towards the camera, orange has the field pointed away from the camera. The solar wind approaches Earth (blue dot) from the left. The magnetotail extends to the right.", "width": 3840, "height": 2160, "pixels": 8294400 } } }, { "id": 411870, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 4080, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4080/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Reconnection Fronts - When Satellites Align...", "description": "In July of 2012, a fleet of spacecraft studying Earth's magnetosphere were in an ideal alignment to detect a particle flow predicted in magnetospheric models. The grey mesh shell structure represents the approximate location of the magnetopause.In this visualization, THEMIS, ARTEMIS (in orbit around the Moon), and Geotail, as well as the particle detectors on the GOES-13 and GOES-15 satellites achieved a good alignment around 09:45 on July 3, 2012 to detect one of the particle flows predicted by magnetospheric models. || ", "release_date": "2013-09-26T14:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:51:49.702070-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 465037, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004000/a004080/ReconnectionFrontsPolar.slate.labels_GSEmove.HD1080i.0404.jpg", "filename": "ReconnectionFrontsPolar.slate.labels_GSEmove.HD1080i.0404.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "A polar view of the satellite alignments, with and without satellite labels. The visualization slows around the time of the event at July 3, 2012 09:45GMT.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } }, { "id": 411871, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 10623, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10623/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Rebounding Plasma Flows in the Inner Magnetosphere", "description": "Substorms send jets of plasma careening Earthward at speeds near 600,000 miles/hour. Researchers comparing multipoint THEMIS spacecraft observations with the predictions of numerical simulations have determined the width of one such jet and determined what happened to it when it encountered the strong magnetic fields within the inner magnetosphere. Plasma jets with the width of the Earth slam into the inner magnetosphere, generating vortices with opposite senses of rotation that appear and disappear on either side of the plasma jet. These vortices become sources of field-aligned electrical currents that flow down to the Earth's ionosphere, where they generate auroral brightenings and intense magnetic field disturbances. After striking the inner magnetospheric magnetic field, the plasma jet itself bounces back and forth, losing energy each time it encounters the magnetic field, and continuing to oscillate until the flow energy is dissipated in the form of plasma heating. || ", "release_date": "2010-07-29T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2024-12-27T12:59:17.449775-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 491009, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010600/a010623/ReconBounce1322.01202_print.jpg", "filename": "ReconBounce1322.01202_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Reconnection bounce animation", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } }, { "id": 411872, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3590, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3590/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "THEMIS/ASI Nights - High Resolution", "description": "A collection of ground-based All-Sky Imagers (ASI) makes an important component of the THEMIS mission in understanding the interaction of the magnetosphere and aurora. It is sometimes referred to as the sixth THEMIS satellite. Descriptions of the instruments are available on the THEMIS-Canada Home Page. Imagery from each camera is co-registered to the surface of the Earth and assembled into a view of the auroral events. This movie presents data from the first large auroral substorm since the THEMIS launch. The substorm reached its maximum between 6:00 and 7:00 UT. Note that the ASI data in this movie are assembled from significantly higher resolution datesets than the earlier version, THEMIS/ASI Nights. The higher resolution enables you to see much finer details in the aurora structure. In addition, one notices trees circling the horizon visible to the cameras located in western Canada. || ", "release_date": "2009-07-07T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-01-05T22:01:59.525805-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 502226, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003500/a003590/ASInew.1000.jpg", "filename": "ASInew.1000.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This movie zooms in on the Earth, revealing the placement of the ASI ground stations and their sky coverage. We observe the stations coming online as the night progresses.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } }, { "id": 411873, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 10355, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10355/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "THEMIS discovers biggest breach of Earth's solar storm shield", "description": "The latest findings from the THEMIS mission: Earth's magnetic field, which shields our planet from severe space weather, often develops two holes ten times larger than anything previously though to exist, allowing solar particles in. || FSR1067.00852_print.jpg (1024x576) [78.7 KB] || FSR1067_web.png (320x180) [278.2 KB] || FSR1067_thm.png (80x40) [16.2 KB] || FSR_720p.webmhd.webm (960x540) [6.7 MB] || 1280x720_16x9_60p (1280x720) [64.0 KB] || FSR_720p.m2v (1280x720) [116.5 MB] || a010355_FSR_720p.mp4 (640x360) [4.4 MB] || FSR_512x288.m1v (512x288) [25.6 MB] || ", "release_date": "2008-12-16T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:00.219898-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 500582, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010300/a010355/FSR1067.00852_print.jpg", "filename": "FSR1067.00852_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": " The latest findings from the THEMIS mission: Earth's magnetic field, which shields our planet from severe space weather, often develops two holes ten times larger than anything previously though to exist, allowing solar particles in.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } }, { "id": 411874, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 10356, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10356/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "THEMIS Discovers Biggest Breach of Earth's Magnetosphere", "description": "NASA's THEMIS mission has overturned a longstanding belief about the interaction between solar particles and Earth's protective magnetic field. This new discovery could help scientists predict when the solar storms that can disrupt power grids, satellites and even GPS signals, could be especially severe.For more information: www.nasa.gov/themisFor complete transcript, click here. || THEMIS_ipodLG.00702_print.jpg (1024x576) [97.3 KB] || THEMIS_ipodLG_web.png (180x320) [228.6 KB] || THEMIS_ipodLG_thm.png (80x40) [16.4 KB] || THEMIS_AppleTV.webmhd.webm (960x540) [32.1 MB] || THEMIS_1280.mov (1280x720) [83.9 MB] || THEMIS_AppleTV.m4v (960x540) [81.1 MB] || THEMIS_ipodLG.m4v (640x360) [26.4 MB] || THEMIS_svsLG.mpg (640x360) [31.9 MB] || THEMIS_YouTube.mov (640x480) [30.0 MB] || THEMIS320.mp4 (320x240) [6.2 MB] || THEMIS_ipodSM.m4v (320x180) [12.0 MB] || THEMIS_svsSM.mpg (512x288) [21.4 MB] || THEMIS.wmv (346x260) [20.1 MB] || ", "release_date": "2008-12-15T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:00.636833-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 500548, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010300/a010356/THEMIS_ipodLG.00702_print.jpg", "filename": "THEMIS_ipodLG.00702_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "NASA's THEMIS mission has overturned a longstanding belief about the interaction between solar particles and Earth's protective magnetic field. This new discovery could help scientists predict when the solar storms that can disrupt power grids, satellites and even GPS signals, could be especially severe.For more information: www.nasa.gov/themisFor complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } }, { "id": 411875, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 20141, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20141/", "page_type": "Animation", "title": "THEMIS Sees Magnetic Reconnection", "description": "THEMIS observations confirm for the first time that magnetic reconnection in the magnetotail triggers the onset of substorms. Substorms are the sudden violent eruptions of space weather that release solar energy trapped in the Earth's magnetic field. || ", "release_date": "2008-07-24T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:15.069052-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 504045, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020100/a020141/themisRecon.190001827_print.jpg", "filename": "themisRecon.190001827_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "THEMIS reconnection animation", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } }, { "id": 411876, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3478, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3478/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "THEMIS Explores the Earth's Bow Shock", "description": "The solar wind's first contact with the Earth's magnetic field creates a region known as the bow shock, much like the bow wave of a boat moving through the water. This region can also create additional turbulence which generates bursts of explosion-like currents. In this visualization, the orbits of the THEMIS fleet are combined with a 2-D slice from a hybrid magnetosphere simulation which illustrates these turbulent regions in the bow shock. This hybrid magnetosphere simulation treats the slow-moving ions by particle-in-cell computational methods and the faster electrons as a massless fluid. These simulations more accurately represent the magnetospheric physics, enabling a view of turbulent non-linear processes not visible in the simpler magnetohydrodynamic models. In this simulation, the color table is somewhat unusual. In order of increasing density, the colors run from white through violet, blue, green to black. || ", "release_date": "2007-12-11T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:30.929626-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 506493, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003400/a003478/omidimodel.0300.jpg", "filename": "omidimodel.0300.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This movie opens with a view of the five THEMIS satellites (the color dots) moving along their orbits. We then fade in the 2-D data from the Omidi simulation and zoom in to view the turbulence in the region of the bow shock.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } }, { "id": 411877, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3485, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3485/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "THEMIS and the March 2007 Substorm", "description": "NASA's Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) mission observed the dynamics of a rapidly developing substorm in March of 2007. This visualization combines the orbits of the THEMIS satellites with a magnetohydrodynamical simulation of the Earth's magnetosphere corresponding to this time. || ", "release_date": "2007-12-10T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:31.191136-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 506595, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003400/a003485/THEMIS200703sHR_GSEmove.HD720p.0549.jpg", "filename": "THEMIS200703sHR_GSEmove.HD720p.0549.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The substorm begins to subside around 11:30UTC.", "width": 2560, "height": 1440, "pixels": 3686400 } } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 371498, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/themis/#media_group_371498", "widget": "Card gallery", "title": "THEMIS-ARTEMIS", "caption": "", "description": "THEMIS-ARTEMIS visualizations", "items": [ { "id": 411878, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3682, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3682/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "ARTEMIS Mission", "description": "An extension to the THEMIS mission is to send two of the THEMIS satellites into lunar orbit to study the magnetospheric environment near the Moon. The new mission is named ARTEMIS (Acceleration, Reconnection Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of Moon's Interaction with the Sun).The outermost two THEMIS spacecraft (Probes B and C) are on route to the Moon, where they will become the ARTEMIS mission's Probes 1 and 2 (red and green, respectively) , tasked with studying not only the tenuous cavity carved out by the Moon in the supersonic solar wind, but also reconnection, particle energization and turbulence in both the solar wind and the Earth's distant magnetotail at lunar distance. ARTEMIS stands for Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence, and Electrodynamics of the Moon's Interaction with the Sun.Thanks to careful planning, sufficient fuel remained on both spacecraft at the successful completion of their primary mission to raise their apogees to lunar distance, where they could receive the multiple gravitational assists needed to fling the spacecraft first beyond the Moon and then assist them in entering in orbits that parallel that of the Moon at the L1 and L2 Lagrange points. Maneuvers in April 2011 enable the spacecraft to enter into prograde and retrograde lunar orbits (the 'braided' motion).The direction of the Sun is indicated by the yellow arrow. || ", "release_date": "2010-10-27T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:53:59.467528-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 493969, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003600/a003682/ARTEMISdeluxeC.HR_Full.HD720p.04480.jpg", "filename": "ARTEMISdeluxeC.HR_Full.HD720p.04480.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "... and out.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } }, { "id": 411879, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3787, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3787/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "ARTEMIS at Lagrange", "description": "This visualization is built from the components of ARTEMIS Mission with emphasis on the maneuvers of the two ARTEMIS spacecraft (red=ARTEMIS-1, green=ARTEMIS-2) around the lunar Lagrange Points L1 and L2.As with the ARTEMIS Mission visual, we show the Earth, the Earth's magnetosphere, the Moon and Sun, with the direction of the Sun from the Earth indicated by the yellow arrow.In this version, the satellite trails are are constructed in a lunar-centric inertial coordinate system so the trails reveal the motion of the satellites relative to the Lagrange points in INERTIAL space (fixed with the distant stars). To see another example of how coordinate systems dramatically affect the construction of trails, see LRO in Earth Centered and Moon Centered Coordinates.In this movie, the camera starts above the Moon's orbital plane and then slowly moves towards the Moon's orbital plane to get a better sense of the motion in 3-D space. For a different perspective, see ARTEMIS at Lagrange: The View from Above. || ", "release_date": "2010-10-27T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:53:59.690762-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 494051, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003700/a003787/ARTEMISlagrange.HR_Full.HD720p.04259.jpg", "filename": "ARTEMISlagrange.HR_Full.HD720p.04259.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "As the camera moves close to the Moon's orbital plane, we see that the two spacecraft are executing their motions in all three spatial dimensions, This is because the coordinate system of the trails has a fixed orientation with the distant stars (inertial space).", "width": 2560, "height": 1440, "pixels": 3686400 } } }, { "id": 411880, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 10636, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/10636/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "ARTEMIS Orbits Magnetic Moon", "description": "Launched in 2007, NASA's five THEMIS spacecraft have now successfully completed their 2 year mission to determine the cause of geomagnetic substorms. Because they are continuing to work perfectly, NASA is re-directing the outermost two spacecraft to special orbits at and around the Moon. This new mission, which is called ARTEMIS, uses some very complex maneuvers over two years (2009-2010) to get both spacecraft into position. As the Moon orbits the Earth, it passes in and out of the Earth's magnetic field and the million-mile per hour stream of particles emitted by the Sun known as the solar wind. While in these regions, the two ARTEMIS spacecraft will seek evidence for turbulence, particle acceleration, and magnetic reconnection, three fundamental phenomena that control the nature of the solar wind's interaction with the Earth's magnetosphere. Employing their full complement of instruments and unique two-point vantage points, the spacecraft will study the vacuum the Moon carves out in the solar wind, and the processes that eventually fill this lunar wake. Nearer the Moon, they will observe the effects of surface electric fields, ions sputtered off the lunar surface, and determine the internal structure of the Moon from transient variations in its magnetic field induced by external changes.Also available are the complete, unedited visualization and frames. || ", "release_date": "2010-10-27T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:53:59.830884-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 490530, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a010600/a010636/Artemis_Title_light.jpg", "filename": "Artemis_Title_light.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ARTEMIS visualization with narration and music.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } }, { "id": 411881, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 4620, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4620/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Magnetic Bubbles on the Moon...", "description": "View of 'deluxe' model with camera in fixed position. Fades from schematic view showing underground dipole field sources (blue and yellow arrows), induced electric field (red arrows) and magnetic field (gold curves) to a view with Reiner Gamma region of moon. Solar protons (blue) rain down on lunar surface with enhanced accumulation near dipoles. || SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed_inertial.HD1080i.1000_print.jpg (1024x576) [163.4 KB] || SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed_inertial.HD1080i.1000_searchweb.png (320x180) [101.6 KB] || SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed_inertial.HD1080i.1000_thm.png (80x40) [6.9 KB] || VizEDFixedCamera (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed.HD1080i_p30.webm (1920x1080) [7.5 MB] || SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed.HD1080i_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [97.0 MB] || VizEDFixedCamera (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [270.4 MB] || SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed.HD1080i_p30.mp4.hwshow [211 bytes] || ", "release_date": "2019-02-27T15:30:00-05:00", "update_date": "2025-02-02T22:36:51.278626-05:00", "main_image": { "id": 397639, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004600/a004620/SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed_inertial.HD1080i.1000_print.jpg", "filename": "SolarWindRain.dipole.Efield_fixed_inertial.HD1080i.1000_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "View of 'deluxe' model with camera in fixed position. Fades from schematic view showing underground dipole field sources (blue and yellow arrows), induced electric field (red arrows) and magnetic field (gold curves) to a view with Reiner Gamma region of moon. Solar protons (blue) rain down on lunar surface with enhanced accumulation near dipoles.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } }, { "id": 411882, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 13150, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13150/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Magnetic Bubbles on the Moon Reveal Evidence of \"Sunburn\"", "description": "Research using data from NASA's ARTEMIS mission suggests that lunar swirls, like the Reiner Gamma lunar swirl imaged here by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, could be the result of solar wind interactions with the Moon's isolated pockets of magnetic field. Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.Music credit: Genetic Spices by Jean Christophe Lemay || swirls.jpg (1920x1080) [514.5 KB] || swirls_searchweb.png (320x180) [90.4 KB] || swirls_thm.png (80x40) [6.3 KB] || 12589_MoonBubbles_GSFC.ENDTAG.mp4 (1920x1080) [140.8 MB] || 12589_MoonBubbles_GSFC.ENDTAG.mov (1920x1080) [1.9 GB] || 12589_MoonBubbles_GSFC.ENDTAG_FB.mp4 (1920x1080) [166.4 MB] || 12589_MoonBubbles_GSFC.ENDTAG_YouTube.mp4 (1920x1080) [222.2 MB] || 12589_MoonBubbles_GSFC.ENDTAG.webm (1920x1080) [15.0 MB] || 12589_MoonBubbles_GSFC.en_US.srt [2.8 KB] || 12589_MoonBubbles_GSFC.en_US.vtt [2.8 KB] || ", "release_date": "2019-02-27T15:30:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:46:06.970918-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 397260, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013100/a013150/swirls.jpg", "filename": "swirls.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Research using data from NASA's ARTEMIS mission suggests that lunar swirls, like the Reiner Gamma lunar swirl imaged here by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, could be the result of solar wind interactions with the Moon's isolated pockets of magnetic field. Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.Music credit: Genetic Spices by Jean Christophe Lemay", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 371499, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/themis/#media_group_371499", "widget": "Card gallery", "title": "THEMIS Resources", "caption": "", "description": "Pre-launch and miscellaneous THEMIS resources.", "items": [ { "id": 411883, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 20097, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20097/", "page_type": "Animation", "title": "Substorms", "description": "This animation shows a magnetospheric substorm, during which the reconnection causes energy to be rapidly released along the field lines causing the auroras to brighten. || ", "release_date": "2007-01-17T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2025-06-03T00:19:07.924901-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 509415, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020000/a020097/Substorms5.jpg", "filename": "Substorms5.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The plasma encountering the Earth's atmosphere, causing auroras.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } }, { "id": 411884, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3398, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3398/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "THEMIS ASI Ground Station Array", "description": "This visualization shows the 20 THEMIS ASI ground station locations. These ground stations will assist the THEMIS satellite constellation in measuring the Aurora Borealis over North America. Each ground station has an all-sky imaging white-light auroral camera and a magnetometer. The ground stations' radial coverage is rendered at 540 km. An artist's conception of an aurora is added to the second part of the visualization for context. || ", "release_date": "2007-01-16T11:45:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:45.621570-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 509426, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003300/a003398/asi_hd.0180_print.jpg", "filename": "asi_hd.0180_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "THEMIS ASI Gound Station Array visualization", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } }, { "id": 411885, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 20096, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20096/", "page_type": "Animation", "title": "THEMIS Launch and Deployment", "description": "THEMIS (Time History of Events and Microscale Interactions durind Substorms) answers fundamental outstanding questions regarding the magnetospheric substorm instability, a dominant mechanism of transport and explosive release of solar wind energy within Geospace. THEMIS will elucidate which magnetotail process is responsible for substorm onset at the region where substorm auroras map (~10Re): (i) a local disruption of the plasma sheet current or (ii) that current's interaction with the rapid influx of plasma emanating from lobe flux annihilation at ~25Re. Correlative observations from long-baseline (2-25 Re) probe conjunctions, will delineate the causal relationship and macroscale interaction between the substorm components. THEMIS's five identical probes measure particles and fields on orbits which optimize tail-aligned conjunctions over North America. || ", "release_date": "2007-01-11T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:45.938043-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 509467, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020000/a020096/ThemisLD3.jpg", "filename": "ThemisLD3.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Themis launching aboard Delta II", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } }, { "id": 411886, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3394, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3394/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "THEMIS Orbits: Transitions", "description": "Between the dayside and nightside phases of the mission, the five spacecraft will conduct orbit change maneuvers over a period of three months. During this visualization, the camera position is locked in GSE coordinates, keeping the Sun to the left. The orbital axis is actually fixed in space but appears to move due to the Earth's motion around the Sun. The dates in this visualization are based on an ephemeris assuming a launch on January 20, 2007. The satellites are represented by the colors: red=P1, green=P2, cyan=P3, blue=P4, magenta=P5. || ", "release_date": "2006-12-14T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:46.635426-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 509606, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003300/a003394/THEMIS_transition_color_NTSC_web.png", "filename": "THEMIS_transition_color_NTSC_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This movie illustrates the three months of orbital maneuvers which transition the five satellites from their dayside science to nightside science configuration.", "width": 320, "height": 213, "pixels": 68160 } } }, { "id": 411887, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3392, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3392/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "THEMIS Orbits: Nightside Science Configuration", "description": "In the latter phase of the mission, the five THEMIS spacecraft will travel on five co-aligned elliptical orbits with their apogee on the nightside of the Earth. From there, they will sample the particle and electromagnetic wave environment along the magnetotail. The dates in this visualization are based on an ephemeris assuming a launch date of January 20, 2007. The five satellites are represented by colors: red=P1, green=P2, cyan=P3, blue=P4, magenta=P5 || ", "release_date": "2006-12-14T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:46.450561-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 509558, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003300/a003392/THEMIS_nightside_color_NTSC_web.png", "filename": "THEMIS_nightside_color_NTSC_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This movie starts from a view of the aurora (simulated) over the north polar region and pulls outward to show the THEMIS spacecraft sampling the region of space 'downwind' from the Earth.", "width": 320, "height": 213, "pixels": 68160 } } }, { "id": 411888, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3391, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3391/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "THEMIS Orbits: Dayside Science Configuration", "description": "In the early part of the mission, the five THEMIS satellites will follow the same orbit single-file. The apogee of the orbit will take the spacecraft just beyond the bow shock of the Earth's magnetosphere. This will enable the satellites to collect data in this region over a short range of time so that the time history can be studied. The dates in this visualization are based on an ephemeris assuming a launch on January 20, 2007. The satellite colors are: red=P1, green=P2, cyan=P3, blue=P4, magenta=P5. || ", "release_date": "2006-12-14T00:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:46.261243-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 509528, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003300/a003391/THEMIS_dayside_color_NTSC_web.png", "filename": "THEMIS_dayside_color_NTSC_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This movie looks down onto the north pole of the Earth and the five THEMIS spacecraft travelling along a single elliptical orbit. The Sun is to the left.", "width": 320, "height": 213, "pixels": 68160 } } }, { "id": 411889, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 20087, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20087/", "page_type": "Animation", "title": "THEMIS Beauty Pass", "description": "A closer look at one of the THEMIS spacecraft. || themis.000100077_print.jpg (1023x682) [86.1 KB] || themis.0001_web.png (320x216) [104.5 KB] || a010094_seq.webmhd.webm (960x540) [4.0 MB] || 720x486_4x3_29.97p (720x486) [64.0 KB] || themis_640x480.mov (640x480) [35.5 MB] || a010094_seq.mpg (720x480) [19.9 MB] || a010094_H264_640x480.mp4 (640x480) [11.5 MB] || themis_320x240.mov (360x240) [12.2 MB] || ", "release_date": "2006-08-08T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:51.223772-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 510372, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020000/a020087/themis_web.jpg", "filename": "themis_web.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "The five THEMIS spacecraft in orbit around the Earth", "width": 320, "height": 216, "pixels": 69120 } } }, { "id": 411890, "type": "details_page", "extra_data": null, "instance": { "id": 3356, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/3356/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "THEMIS Mission and Substorm Simulation", "description": "This visualization combines simulations of the THEMIS (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms) mission orbits with a GGCM (Geospace General Circulation Model) simulation. It illustrates how the five THEMIS satellites will work together to detect substorm events in the magnetosphere. One goal of the THEMIS mission is to test how these substorm events are related to the formation of the aurora.This mission consists of five identical spacecraft (usually designated P1, P2, P3, P4 and P5) with orbits aligned so they reach their apogee along the same line from the Earth. This alignment remains fixed in space so as the Earth moves around the Sun, the constellation of spacecraft will extend on the nightside of the Earth in winter to sample the Earth's magnetosphere, and on the dayside of the Earth in summer to sample the incoming solar wind. This way they can better map the geospace environment.Probes P1 and P2 are called the 'outer probes' and P3, 4, and 5 are the 'inner probes'. P3 and P4 share the same orbit. The outer probes will detect the onset of the substorm, while the inner probes will monitor the Earthward plasma flows from the event.For more information on the GGCM model, visit the Community Coordinated Modeling Center and OpenGGCM. || ", "release_date": "2006-05-22T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:55:53.891662-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 511011, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003300/a003356/themis_substormHR_GSEmove.0481.jpg", "filename": "themis_substormHR_GSEmove.0481.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "In this view of the plasma pressure (colors) and the magnetic field lines (black), we see a substorm event.", "width": 2560, "height": 1920, "pixels": 4915200 } } } ], "extra_data": {} } ] }