Big Questions for FAST
Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer (FAST) studies the detailed plasma physics of the Earth's auroral regions. Ground support campaigns coordinate satellite measurements with ground observations of the Aurora Borealis, commonly referred to as the Northern Lights. The science instruments on board FAST are helping scientists to learn about the interaction of the solar wind with Earth's magnetosphere. This mission is part of SMD's Heliophysics Explorers program. This mission is part of SMD's Explorers Program.
- How does solar variability affect human society, technological systems and the habitability of planets?
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Geomagnetic storms (magnetic storms on Earth due to solar activity) produce the awe-inspiring Aurora borealis and Aurora australis -- the Northern and Southern lights. However, they can also cause a variety of highly undesirable consequences. Electrical current surges in power lines, interference in the broadcast of radio, television, and telephone signals, and problems with defense communications are all associated with magnetic storms.
- What are the fundamental physical processes of the space environment?
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The sun, interplanetary space, planetary magnetospheres, and most of the rest of the universe are made up of plasma, which is an electrically-charged gas. Because they are plasma, electro-magnetic forces are extremely important. There is a tight coupling between the matter (in the form of sub-atomic particles) and the electric and magnetic fields. Motion of plasma in the sun generates the solar magnetic field, and the magnetic stresses built up are what cause the sun to vary. Magnetic reconnection, a rapid reconfiguration of the magnetic field, can accelerate matter up to very high energies and make hazardous radiation. Other more gradual processes can also accelerate particles up to hazardous energies. Understand the intricate interplay between matter and electro-magnetism in the space environment is what requires a system-level study that we call Heliophysics.