NASA just launched rockets into the northern lights and captured the hidden electricity that powers them.
NASA has successfully carried out two sounding rocket missions from Alaska to investigate the powerful electrical forces behind the northern lights. The Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor and the Geophysical Non-Equilibrium Ionospheric System Science mission, known as GNEISS (pronounced “nice”), both lifted off from the Poker Flat Research Range near Fairbanks.
The Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor launched February 9 at 3:29 a.m. AKST (7:29 a.m. EST) and climbed to about 224 miles (360 kilometers). Principal investigator Marilia Samara said every instrument, including technology demonstrations, operated as planned and that the team received high-quality data.
The two-rocket GNEISS mission followed with back-to-back launches on February 10 at 1:19:00 a.m. and 1:19:30 a.m. AKST (5:19:00 a.m. and 5:19:30 a.m. EST). The rockets reached peak altitudes of approximately 198.3 miles (319.06 kilometers) and 198.8 miles (319.94 kilometers), respectively. Principal investigator Kristina Lynch reported that all ground stations, subpayloads, and instrument booms performed as expected, and that researchers are pleased with both the launch operations and the data gathered so far.
The Hidden Electrical Circuit Behind the Northern Lights
Auroras appear when streams of electrons travel from space into Earth’s upper atmosphere. As these charged particles collide with atmospheric gases, they trigger the familiar glowing ribbons of light. It is similar to electricity flowing through a wire to power a lightbulb.
But the glow is only part of a much larger electrical loop. In any circuit, current must return to its source. When electrons pour into the atmosphere to create an aurora, others must eventually flow back out to space to complete that circuit.
The incoming particle beams are relatively focused, like current moving through a cable. The return flow, however, is far more chaotic. After producing the light display, electrons scatter in many directions. Their motion is influenced by collisions, shifting winds, pressure differences, and changing electric and magnetic fields. Over time, they find pathways back to space, closing the auroral circuit through a complex and constantly changing environment.
GNEISS Creates a 3D CT Style Scan of Auroral Currents
To truly understand how the aurora functions, scientists must map how this returning current spreads through the atmosphere. That requires tracing many possible pathways at once, which is a major technical challenge.
“We’re not just interested in where the rocket flies,” said Kristina Lynch, principal investigator for GNEISS and a professor at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. “We want to know how the current spreads downward through the atmosphere.”
Lynch designed GNEISS specifically to answer that question. Using two rockets and a coordinated network of ground receivers, the mission builds a three-dimensional picture of the aurora’s electrical structure.
“It’s essentially like doing a CT scan of the plasma beneath the aurora,” Lynch said.
The two rockets were launched nearly simultaneously, flying side by side through the same auroral display along slightly different paths. Each rocket released four subpayloads to gather measurements at multiple points within the glowing region.
As the rockets passed overhead, they transmitted radio signals through the surrounding plasma to receivers on the ground. The plasma modified those signals during their journey, similar to how body tissues alter X-rays in a medical CT scan. By analyzing these changes, scientists can determine plasma density and identify where electrical currents are able to flow. The result is a large-scale three-dimensional scan of the auroral environment.
Why Auroral Currents Matter for Space Weather
Understanding auroral currents is not just about filling in a missing piece of physics. These electrical flows control how energy from space is distributed through Earth’s upper atmosphere. When currents spread out, they heat the surrounding air, generate winds, and create turbulence that can affect satellites traveling through that region.
For years, researchers have studied auroras from the ground. NASA’s EZIE satellite mission, launched in March 2025, measures auroral electrical currents from orbit. By combining satellite observations, ground imagery, and direct rocket measurements, scientists gain a more complete picture of the system.
“If we can put the in situ measurements together with the ground-based imagery, then we can learn to read the aurora,” Lynch said.
Investigating Black Auroras and Current Reversals
During the same launch window, NASA also flew the Black and Diffuse Auroral Science Surveyor mission. This sounding rocket focused on unusual dark patches within auroras known as black auroras. Scientists believe these regions may mark locations where electrical currents abruptly reverse direction.
The recent launch marked the mission’s second attempt, following a 2025 effort that was postponed due to unfavorable weather and scientific conditions. With the successful flight now complete, researchers are analyzing fresh data to better understand how these dark regions fit into the broader auroral circuit.
Auroras form where space interacts with Earth’s atmosphere. Electric currents, charged particles, and countless collisions combine to create these vivid displays. Sounding rockets provide a rare opportunity to fly directly through them, placing instruments exactly where the processes unfold. Through short, precisely timed missions, NASA is turning fleeting flashes of light into deeper insight about how space weather shapes our planet.
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2 Comments
Have any of your writers ever come across Birkeland currents? Is there a reason why not? The electric aspects of Auroras has been known for a long time.
You’ve just launched a million people with ideas for a new energy source….Jeeez…