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Extreme Science: Launching Sounding Rockets from The Arctic

This winter, our scientists and engineers traveled to the world’s northernmost civilian town to launch rockets equipped with cutting-edge scientific instruments.

This is the beginning of a 14-month-long campaign to study a particular region of Earth’s magnetic field — which means launching near the poles. What’s it like to launch a science rocket in these extreme conditions?

Our planet is protected by a natural magnetic field that deflects most of the particles that flow out from the Sun — the solar wind — away from our atmosphere. But near the north and south poles, two oddities in Earth’s magnetic field funnel these solar particles directly into our atmosphere. These regions are the polar cusps, and it turns out they’re the ideal spot for studying how our atmosphere interacts with space.

The scientists of the Grand Challenge Initiative — Cusp are using sounding rockets to do their research. Sounding rockets are suborbital rockets that launch to a few hundred miles in altitude, spending a few minutes in space before falling back to Earth. That means sounding rockets can carry sensitive instruments above our atmosphere to study the Sun, other stars and even distant galaxies.

They also fly directly through some of the most interesting regions of Earth’s atmosphere, and that’s what scientists are taking advantage of for their Grand Challenge experiments.

One of the ideal rocket ranges for cusp science is in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, off the coast of Norway and within the Arctic circle. Because of its far northward position, each morning Svalbard passes directly under Earth’s magnetic cusp.

But launching in this extreme, remote environment puts another set of challenges on the mission teams. These launches need to happen during the winter, when Svalbard experiences 24/7 darkness because of Earth’s axial tilt. The launch teams can go months without seeing the Sun.

Like for all rocket launches, the science teams have to wait for the right weather conditions to launch. Because they’re studying upper atmospheric processes, some of these teams also have to wait for other science conditions, like active auroras. Auroras are created when charged particles collide with Earth’s atmosphere — often triggered by solar storms or changes in the solar wind — and they’re related to many of the upper-atmospheric processes that scientists want to study near the magnetic cusp.

But even before launch, the extreme conditions make launching rockets a tricky business — it’s so cold that the rockets must be encased in styrofoam before launch to protect them from the low temperatures and potential precipitation.

When all is finally ready, an alarm sounds throughout the town of Ny-Ålesund to alert residents to the impending launch. And then it’s up, up and away! This photo shows the launch of the twin VISIONS-2 sounding rockets on Dec. 7, 2018 from Ny-Ålesund.

These rockets are designed to break up during flight — so after launch comes clean-up. The launch teams track where debris lands so that they can retrieve the pieces later.

The next launch of the Grand Challenge Initiative is AZURE, launching from Andøya Space Center in Norway in April 2019.

 For even more about what it’s like to launch science rockets in extreme conditions, check out one scientist’s notes from the field: https://go.nasa.gov/2QzyjR4

For updates on the Grand Challenge Initiative and other sounding rocket flights, visit nasa.gov/soundingrockets or follow along with NASA Wallops and NASA heliophysics on Twitter and Facebook.

@NASA_Wallops | NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility | @NASASun | NASA Sun Science

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#crochet

I need to go to sleep, but I have new yarn.

If you knit or crochet, you can see where this is going…

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mood

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Yale professor Timothy Snyder explains how democracies fall.

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dude where’s my

ability to experience pleasure in the things that give me a reason to live

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my utopia

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Emmanuel Macron beats Marine Le Pen and all of 2017 isn't a complete trash fire.

Thank you, France. I'ma go eat a croissant.

(Results via  The Telegraph)

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this is EXACTLY why representation matters 

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At the end of a national park rainbow, the gold you’ll find will be the stunning features of the landscape. Discover the national park treasure at the end of these colorful beauties. 🌈

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When people ask you why you make science puns:

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Resources for Male Rape/Abuse Survivors: Articles,Books, Webpages and Blogs

Articles & Links

RAINN’s Article on Male Sexual Assault

Male Sexual Assault

Men And Sexual Trauma

Male Rape & Assault: Dispelling the Myths

Myths about male rape

Silent Victims: Bring Male Rape Out of the Closet

RELATIONSHIPS; COUNSELING MALE RAPE VICTIMS

Sexual abuse of males, prevalence, possible lasting effects and resources

Male to Male Child Sexual Abuse in the Context of Homophobia

Treatment Needs of Sexually Abused Men

Female Perpetrators and male sexual abuse victims: Society betrayal of boys

Male Rape survivors

The Hard Truth About Girl-on-Guy Rape

Against his will: Female-on-male rape

Books For Male Rape/Abuse/Incest Survivors

Books for Male Rape Survivors

Male On Male Rape: The Hidden Toll of Stigma and Shame

Understanding Male Sexual Abuse: Why Male Victims Remain Silent

To the Survivors: One Man’s Journey as a Rape Crisis Counselor with True Stories of Sexual Violence

Echoes of Innocence - Survivor [Kindle Edition]

Male Rape: The Emergence of a Social and Legal Issue

Women Who Rape Men (Female Sex Predators)

Not Quite Healed: 40 Truths for Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

The Male Survivor: The Impact of Sexual Abuse [Kindle Edition]

Evicting the Perpetrator: A Male Survivor Guide to Recovery from Childhood Sexual Abuse

Victims No Longer: The Classic Guide for Men Recovering from Sexual Child Abuse

Opening The Door: A Treatment Model For Therapy With Male Survivors Of Sexual Abuse 

Male Survivors: 12-Step Recovery Program for Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse : With Exercises for Personal Growth 

One out of Six and Many, Many, More: A Collection of Poetry from a Male Survivor of Sexual Abuse

In Cabin Six : An Anthology of Poetry by Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse

Adult Male Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

Silent Rage: African American Boys and Sexual Abuse [Kindle Edition]

  Blogs and Pages for Male Rape Survivors

Breaking the culture of silence-a place for male survivors to share experiences, connect, and heal. You are not alone.

Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse 

MenWeb - Men’s Voices: Surviving and Living Male Survivors of Childhood Sex Abuse

Mpower- Supporting Male Survivors of Abuse

Male Survivor- Overcoming sexual victimization of boys and men 

Living Well Resource for men who have been sexually abused or assaulted 

Men Raped Support Forum

SurvivorsUK -Help and counselling for male survivors of rape and abuse in the UK

Mankind- Resources and support services for male survivors of sexual assault and abuse

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haha well i have no idea what i’m doing in my future and my dreams are dying in my hands and my chest hurts and i never sleep and my mouth tastes like sand and my entire body is filled with a silent scream but yeah i’m doing fine thanks for asking

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You should share this for people in DC and close to you!!

Black Community we have to be careful. Protect our Girls! Spread this! 

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Maybe we don’t heal by convincing ourselves that someday, the pain will fade; that we’ll return to our former selves and reclaim the life we used to have. Maybe we heal when we accept that it’s okay to never go back; when we stop trying to use the broken pieces to rebuild the old picture, and instead, create a new one. Maybe we heal by affirming that even with this pain, we can craft a life that gives us meaning; that even when there are storms that flood our hearts, we can learn how to swim; that when night falls, we can learn how to create our own light. Maybe, it means trusting that no matter how many times we have to recreate ourselves and redirect our path, we will end up where we’re meant to be.

Daniell Koepke  (via internal-acceptance-movement)