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good afternoon everyone this is the

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mission science briefing for the

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magnetospheric multi-scale mission or

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mms

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and we'd like to show you something

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first before we go to our briefers

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earlier this morning about 5 after 10 we

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rolled out the atlas 5 rocket from the

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vertical integration facility at launch

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complex 41

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out to the launch pad

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we see the 53rd atlas v to be launched

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this is nasa's 12th

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and once the atlas v lifts off

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tomorrow night it's a fairly lengthy

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flight in comparison to some others

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it'll be an hour and 47 minutes and 12

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seconds until the last mms spacecraft

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right now i would like to

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begin talking about our mission that's

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coming up starting

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first with jeff newmark the interim

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director for the heliophysics division

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jim burch the principal investigator for

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the mms instrument suite science team

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from the southwest research institute in

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san antonio

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roy torbert the mms fields investigation

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lead from the university of new

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hampshire at durham new hampshire

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craig the lead co-investigator

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for the mms fast plasma investigation

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from nasa's goddard space flight center

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in greenbelt maryland

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and paul kasich

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the associate professor

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from west virginia university at

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morgantown west virginia

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and we'll begin first with jeff newmark

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jeff

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thank you george good afternoon everyone

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i'm really pleased to be here today to

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talk about magnetospheric multi-scale

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or mms or

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this is a lot of complex words you're

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hearing these days magnetosphere

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multi-scale magnetic reconnection

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heliophysics uh i hope that all this

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briefing next few minutes we can we can

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simplify this kind of introduce you to

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the subject and why we're really so

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excited here at nasa about this

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let's start off with heliophysics what

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is heliophysics heliophysics is the

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study of the sun

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and its interaction with the earth and

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the solar system including what we call

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space weather

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what is this going to do for us well

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we're looking to answer big questions

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like why does the sun vary

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how does the space environment around

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the planets

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react

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and what are the impacts on humanity in

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our technological society all of these

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are what we study in heliophysics

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in fact the earth and all the other

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planets are embedded in the extended

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atmosphere of the sun where actually

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these charged particles stream from the

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sun all the time and we live within this

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environment

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this we're actually a single system

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that's what heliophysics is about it's

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studying the connected system from the

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sun

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to our space environment around us to

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the edges of what we call the

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heliosphere this bubble around the

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entire solar system

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when we

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just really understand this i'd like to

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follow take you on a journey a journey

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of space weather a journey that starts

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in the interior of the sun

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and

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the

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magnetic field

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then gets

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wrapped around itself and the sun as the

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sun rotates

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and let's see what happens when that uh

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we're looking at is the sun in the outer

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atmosphere of the sun the bright areas

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are areas where the magnetic field is

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really concentrated and you'll see off

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on the left side of the sun a tremendous

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explosion a slower flare what we call

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coronal mass ejection or a solar storm

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these storms contain a billion tons of

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material traveling a million miles an

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hour throughout interplanetary space

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occasionally they come right to the

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earth

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where

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fortunately we have a the earth has its

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own magnetic field

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and we ex this magnetic field extends

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into space we call it a magnetosphere

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that's what we'll be studying the area

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the region that mms will be flying in

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it interacts though

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in each of these stages from the initial

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flare that we saw at the sun that is

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caused by magnetic reconnection

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as that giant solar storm gets driven

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from the sun that's released by magnetic

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reconnection

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as the storm interacts with the earth's

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magnetosphere that interaction again is

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magnetic reconnection so this entire

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journey is a story of space weather

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geophysics and magnetic reconnection

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a really exciting event just happened

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earlier this morning there was an x

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flare on the sun this is the largest

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class flare that we classify as stores

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and this same kind of series of events

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this was on the front facing side of the

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sun and the same series of events is

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actually going to be unfolding in front

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of our eyes over the next few days so

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we're really excited

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how does heliophysics study these events

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well if you'll see in my next slide

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healing physics we actually have a

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fleet of

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missions we call the heliophysics system

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observatory we actually have 18 missions

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with 29 spacecraft

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throughout interplanetary space some

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around earth earth orbit some going

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towards closer to the sun some going

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around to the far side of the sun

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and we study all this whole link system

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that i was just talking about

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from the interior of the sun through the

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release of the magnetic reconnection the

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flare in the sun

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watching that material stream throughout

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interplanetary space we can actually see

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it today through our stereo spacecraft

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impacting the earth's magnetosphere and

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that's where mms comes in

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the part that's been missing i've

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mentioned magnetic reconnection but we

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don't understand the physics we don't

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understand the details it's a word but

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the actual details we really don't know

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yet and that's what we're going to learn

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mms is really going to teach us that

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so my last video

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i'm going to introduce you just to the

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mission itself a little bit

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we see the solar storm like the one

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that's coming our way now from the sun

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this impacts the

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earth's magnetosphere

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mms will have four spacecraft

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because you'll hear much more about the

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spacecraft

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traveling around the earth through this

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magnetic the magnetosphere this region

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sampling the magnetic reconnection

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itself using our magnetosphere as a

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laboratory an actual laboratory in space

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that we didn't have to build nature

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built it for us and so

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to learn and how each one of these

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stages of magnetic reconnection occur so

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we're really thrilled uh to see this

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launch tomorrow and i hope you can

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follow us on this journey and to give

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you some of the details about the

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science i'd like to pass over to jim

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burch thank you jeff it's very difficult

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for me to appreciate how excited we all

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are about the launch of mms we've worked

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10 years with a large science and

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engineering team

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working with us at southwest resource

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institute at university of new hampshire

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ucla applied physics lab and a large

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science and instrument and engineering

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team at goddard space flight center and

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all of these all of these individuals

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work together very well we're all very

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happy we'd do it again in a minute

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now what's the mission about as jeff

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said it's about magnetic fields

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throughout the universe magnetic fields

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are continuously being generated and

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destroyed

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now the generation part is not

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completely understood but it's uh we

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have a better idea of what's happening

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this is caused by a dynamo effect where

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if you have a conducting fluid or a

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conducting gas that starts in motion

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with a rotating body like a star or sun

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or planet

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then you can create the magnetic fields

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the destruction part is more difficult

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we know that it's caused by magnetic

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reconnection

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with two magnetic fields in adjacent

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regions or even a magnetic field in a

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loop type configuration which i'll show

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in the same region

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at the base can reconnect and destroy

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magnetic field energy

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we know what happens we know it genera

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it converts that energy to high energy

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charged particles and heat we just don't

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know what causes it to happen because

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these processes happen at the smallest

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scale of the plasma which is the

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electron scale and any previous mission

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has fallen short by a factor of 100 of

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investigating that scale so this is why

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mms was given such a high priority for

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the nation by the national academy about

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12 years ago and this is why nasa picked

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up on that

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and implemented the mission i mentioned

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how

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you know this happens we want to know

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more but how does it affect us

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jeff mentioned that

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as well

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reconnection is the engine that drives

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space weather

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flares you have energetic particles from

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the sun you have the auroras magnetic

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storms

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all of these things every single one of

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them are driven by reconnection

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so we're not setting out here to solve

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space weather we're setting out to learn

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the fundamental

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features of magnetic reconnection

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because that's what drives space weather

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someone else can take that and use it

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for predictions if they want

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now reconnection also happens in the

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laboratory there are people for 20 years

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or more who've been trying to harness

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nuclear fusion

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by trapping

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particles in a donate shaped magnetic

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field and heating these up to something

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like 100 million degrees

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when the fusion starts happening if you

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could maintain that we will have solved

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the energy crisis

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trouble is it always crashes these

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temperatures always come down

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repeatedly and on the plot it looks like

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the blades of a saw which is called a

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sawtooth crash

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caused by magnetic reconnection so we

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looked closely with the people that got

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a nice long chat with some of the people

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from princeton plasma physics laboratory

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yesterday after our mission briefing

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that are very interested in working with

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us so there are practical applications

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once you understand how magnetic

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reconnection works now i mentioned this

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loop type reconnection where you have a

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dynamo say on the surface of a star or

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maybe in a disc that surrounds uh black

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holes and it creates a magnetic loop as

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00:10:42,150 --> 00:10:39,440
this expands the base of that loop might

286
00:10:43,990 --> 00:10:42,160
converge so the outer magnetic field is

287
00:10:45,190 --> 00:10:44,000
pointing outward on one side and inward

288
00:10:46,630 --> 00:10:45,200
on the other side they're in opposite

289
00:10:48,870 --> 00:10:46,640
directions that's what you need for

290
00:10:51,110 --> 00:10:48,880
magnetic reconnection so now we look at

291
00:10:52,949 --> 00:10:51,120
video we're going to see this

292
00:10:54,230 --> 00:10:52,959
in the accretion disk around a black

293
00:10:55,829 --> 00:10:54,240
hole after

294
00:10:58,310 --> 00:10:55,839
a brief introduction

295
00:10:59,509 --> 00:10:58,320
about the earth etc but the next thing

296
00:11:02,150 --> 00:10:59,519
you're going to see

297
00:11:04,389 --> 00:11:02,160
is a black hole sagittarius center of

298
00:11:06,389 --> 00:11:04,399
our galaxy there's the flares a loop

299
00:11:08,630 --> 00:11:06,399
type reconnection there's a flare on the

300
00:11:10,550 --> 00:11:08,640
sun exactly the same process if you look

301
00:11:12,790 --> 00:11:10,560
closely you can see these loops that

302
00:11:15,110 --> 00:11:12,800
reconnects at their bases

303
00:11:17,350 --> 00:11:15,120
now when as jeff mentioned

304
00:11:19,910 --> 00:11:17,360
when these events become very energetic

305
00:11:22,310 --> 00:11:19,920
they cause outbursts called coronal mass

306
00:11:24,230 --> 00:11:22,320
ejections that propagate rapidly towards

307
00:11:26,069 --> 00:11:24,240
the earth you see here

308
00:11:27,750 --> 00:11:26,079
causes magnetic storms

309
00:11:28,470 --> 00:11:27,760
and the aurora and this is the thing

310
00:11:32,790 --> 00:11:28,480
that

311
00:11:35,030 --> 00:11:32,800
drives it is reconnection so there's

312
00:11:37,190 --> 00:11:35,040
reconnection on the day side when the

313
00:11:38,310 --> 00:11:37,200
cloud first hits the magnetosphere not

314
00:11:41,030 --> 00:11:38,320
that much happens when it gets

315
00:11:43,269 --> 00:11:41,040
interesting is on the night side you see

316
00:11:44,870 --> 00:11:43,279
in a moment on the right side of this

317
00:11:46,230 --> 00:11:44,880
where you have reconnection in the tail

318
00:11:47,910 --> 00:11:46,240
of the magnetosphere and this is what

319
00:11:49,430 --> 00:11:47,920
produces the aurora

320
00:11:53,030 --> 00:11:49,440
and the currents that

321
00:11:55,350 --> 00:11:53,040
uh carry the energy in magnetic storms

322
00:11:57,750 --> 00:11:55,360
now here was looking in the next

323
00:11:59,509 --> 00:11:57,760
sequence here this is a bastille day

324
00:12:01,670 --> 00:11:59,519
starting back in 2001 this is another

325
00:12:04,150 --> 00:12:01,680
spacecraft that same a lot of our same

326
00:12:05,990 --> 00:12:04,160
group did and that was a shock wave

327
00:12:07,350 --> 00:12:06,000
hitting the earth causing this brighter

328
00:12:09,670 --> 00:12:07,360
rural display

329
00:12:11,110 --> 00:12:09,680
now how does a reconnection work how do

330
00:12:13,190 --> 00:12:11,120
we think it works we're going to look at

331
00:12:15,990 --> 00:12:13,200
a still drawing here

332
00:12:18,150 --> 00:12:16,000
okay it's in one sense it's very simple

333
00:12:20,069 --> 00:12:18,160
and another sense is very complicated

334
00:12:21,829 --> 00:12:20,079
and also mysterious

335
00:12:23,350 --> 00:12:21,839
simple part is that if you have magnetic

336
00:12:25,910 --> 00:12:23,360
fields pointing in opposite directions

337
00:12:27,750 --> 00:12:25,920
let's say the top of this graph

338
00:12:29,750 --> 00:12:27,760
of this figure pointing to the left at

339
00:12:31,110 --> 00:12:29,760
the bottom pointing to the right and if

340
00:12:32,790 --> 00:12:31,120
something is squeezing these together

341
00:12:36,069 --> 00:12:32,800
and these are plasmas one side could be

342
00:12:37,829 --> 00:12:36,079
the solar wind the other side could be

343
00:12:39,190 --> 00:12:37,839
could be a stellar wind or it could be a

344
00:12:41,430 --> 00:12:39,200
magnetospheric flow but if you're

345
00:12:43,590 --> 00:12:41,440
squeezing these together then we do know

346
00:12:45,030 --> 00:12:43,600
that the magnetic fields interconnect

347
00:12:46,389 --> 00:12:45,040
and you see those jets those are high

348
00:12:47,990 --> 00:12:46,399
energy particles

349
00:12:50,310 --> 00:12:48,000
that are produced as you destroy

350
00:12:52,790 --> 00:12:50,320
magnetic energy and convert it to

351
00:12:54,870 --> 00:12:52,800
particle energy so we know what goes on

352
00:12:56,870 --> 00:12:54,880
around that blue box called diffusion

353
00:12:58,870 --> 00:12:56,880
region from previous missions

354
00:13:00,790 --> 00:12:58,880
and from theoretical work

355
00:13:03,269 --> 00:13:00,800
but previous missions and theoretical

356
00:13:05,110 --> 00:13:03,279
work have told us nothing about what

357
00:13:08,389 --> 00:13:05,120
goes on in that diffusion region and

358
00:13:10,710 --> 00:13:08,399
that's what mms is going to do

359
00:13:12,230 --> 00:13:10,720
okay now in a minute uh this is comes up

360
00:13:13,750 --> 00:13:12,240
pretty quickly so i'll just tell you

361
00:13:15,910 --> 00:13:13,760
there's one of these boxes shown on the

362
00:13:17,430 --> 00:13:15,920
day side of the magnetosphere and one on

363
00:13:19,110 --> 00:13:17,440
the nice side of the magnetosphere and

364
00:13:20,949 --> 00:13:19,120
then right away we come up with a

365
00:13:23,030 --> 00:13:20,959
computer simulation

366
00:13:24,870 --> 00:13:23,040
showing what theory says is going on

367
00:13:26,790 --> 00:13:24,880
inside those boxes so you start that

368
00:13:28,870 --> 00:13:26,800
video

369
00:13:31,110 --> 00:13:28,880
see those two boxes day side and night

370
00:13:33,110 --> 00:13:31,120
side and then you see this is what's

371
00:13:35,190 --> 00:13:33,120
going on inside the boxes you can plot

372
00:13:36,790 --> 00:13:35,200
different things this particular plot is

373
00:13:38,870 --> 00:13:36,800
electron currents

374
00:13:40,550 --> 00:13:38,880
produced by one of the top

375
00:13:42,550 --> 00:13:40,560
computer simulations of reconnection

376
00:13:44,470 --> 00:13:42,560
that we have but these are only

377
00:13:46,470 --> 00:13:44,480
approximations because

378
00:13:48,870 --> 00:13:46,480
as most of us know the protons are about

379
00:13:50,629 --> 00:13:48,880
2 000 times heavier than the electrons

380
00:13:53,509 --> 00:13:50,639
any of the computers that exist cannot

381
00:13:56,470 --> 00:13:53,519
handle that ratio these ratios are

382
00:14:00,629 --> 00:13:56,480
at 100 at best so these are guides the

383
00:14:02,710 --> 00:14:00,639
true answer is going to come from mms

384
00:14:05,750 --> 00:14:02,720
now there's another

385
00:14:07,269 --> 00:14:05,760
video that's going to show how we access

386
00:14:09,110 --> 00:14:07,279
these two regions of interest those two

387
00:14:11,189 --> 00:14:09,120
boxes we launch on the nice side with

388
00:14:12,870 --> 00:14:11,199
that red orbit it precesses around you

389
00:14:14,710 --> 00:14:12,880
see the sun off to the left

390
00:14:16,710 --> 00:14:14,720
skims a boundary between the solar wind

391
00:14:18,310 --> 00:14:16,720
and the magnetosphere all the time we're

392
00:14:19,990 --> 00:14:18,320
adjusting the separation between these

393
00:14:22,150 --> 00:14:20,000
four spacecraft they're in a pyramid

394
00:14:24,629 --> 00:14:22,160
formation but we can adjust it second

395
00:14:26,310 --> 00:14:24,639
time around we pick the optimum

396
00:14:27,829 --> 00:14:26,320
separation based on the data from the

397
00:14:30,389 --> 00:14:27,839
first time around

398
00:14:31,990 --> 00:14:30,399
then we double our apogee out to 25 re

399
00:14:34,069 --> 00:14:32,000
to access that

400
00:14:36,389 --> 00:14:34,079
box in the tail and there we can adjust

401
00:14:37,509 --> 00:14:36,399
the separation from 10 kilometers out to

402
00:14:39,030 --> 00:14:37,519
400

403
00:14:41,030 --> 00:14:39,040
kilometers the reason we pick 10

404
00:14:43,590 --> 00:14:41,040
kilometers or six miles is that's a

405
00:14:45,189 --> 00:14:43,600
characteristic skill length of the

406
00:14:46,949 --> 00:14:45,199
electrons especially on the day side

407
00:14:49,350 --> 00:14:46,959
where the densities are high

408
00:14:51,430 --> 00:14:49,360
and previous missions have only gone to

409
00:14:53,110 --> 00:14:51,440
a few hundred kilometers so you need to

410
00:14:54,230 --> 00:14:53,120
get down to that you need four

411
00:14:56,790 --> 00:14:54,240
spacecraft because it's a

412
00:14:58,389 --> 00:14:56,800
three-dimensional phenomenon as you know

413
00:15:00,629 --> 00:14:58,399
three points to find a plane

414
00:15:01,750 --> 00:15:00,639
and so you couldn't do anything uh with

415
00:15:04,710 --> 00:15:01,760
three

416
00:15:07,030 --> 00:15:04,720
and so this is uh our

417
00:15:10,470 --> 00:15:07,040
strategy now the next

418
00:15:14,310 --> 00:15:12,389
gonna show what happens while we're in

419
00:15:16,069 --> 00:15:14,320
those orbits so i mentioned these

420
00:15:17,990 --> 00:15:16,079
pyramids there are also tetrahedrons

421
00:15:19,110 --> 00:15:18,000
another word for it in a minute they'll

422
00:15:21,110 --> 00:15:19,120
zoom in a little bit and they'll

423
00:15:23,590 --> 00:15:21,120
separate and you'll see this pyramid

424
00:15:25,509 --> 00:15:23,600
formation and that pyramid

425
00:15:27,750 --> 00:15:25,519
develops and is maintained out in the

426
00:15:29,670 --> 00:15:27,760
outer reaches of the magnetosphere those

427
00:15:32,230 --> 00:15:29,680
two boxes we looked at dayside and

428
00:15:34,310 --> 00:15:32,240
nightside are at fairly large distances

429
00:15:36,230 --> 00:15:34,320
you can't really tell it that well from

430
00:15:38,310 --> 00:15:36,240
this video but there's the pyramid and

431
00:15:40,069 --> 00:15:38,320
then when it gets close to the earth

432
00:15:41,350 --> 00:15:40,079
they line up in a line and they get

433
00:15:43,430 --> 00:15:41,360
farther away

434
00:15:45,430 --> 00:15:43,440
they maintain the pyramid again and this

435
00:15:46,470 --> 00:15:45,440
is done using a very sensitive and

436
00:15:50,389 --> 00:15:46,480
accurate

437
00:15:52,550 --> 00:15:50,399
gps receiver and a lot of propulsion we

438
00:15:54,470 --> 00:15:52,560
have propulsion that can do

439
00:15:56,710 --> 00:15:54,480
we can use it once or twice in orbit to

440
00:15:59,350 --> 00:15:56,720
maintain almost perfect pyramids in the

441
00:16:02,310 --> 00:15:59,360
regions that we're uh interested in

442
00:16:03,910 --> 00:16:02,320
so now again why we're doing this is

443
00:16:05,910 --> 00:16:03,920
magnetic reconnection is what drives

444
00:16:07,670 --> 00:16:05,920
space weather see this event that jeff's

445
00:16:09,189 --> 00:16:07,680
talking about coming this way is going

446
00:16:10,790 --> 00:16:09,199
to cause space weather but it was

447
00:16:12,310 --> 00:16:10,800
produced by magnetic reconnection and

448
00:16:14,470 --> 00:16:12,320
when it hits the earth

449
00:16:16,230 --> 00:16:14,480
its effects are going to be produced by

450
00:16:18,230 --> 00:16:16,240
magnetic reconnection so that's why

451
00:16:21,189 --> 00:16:18,240
we're so excited and very excited about

452
00:16:22,389 --> 00:16:21,199
our mission now turn it over to roy

453
00:16:24,550 --> 00:16:22,399
good afternoon

454
00:16:26,710 --> 00:16:24,560
uh as jim mentioned

455
00:16:29,670 --> 00:16:26,720
magnetic reconnection is the process

456
00:16:31,990 --> 00:16:29,680
that releases magnetic field energy and

457
00:16:33,910 --> 00:16:32,000
so it's very important on mms to measure

458
00:16:36,470 --> 00:16:33,920
these electromagnetic fields very very

459
00:16:39,430 --> 00:16:36,480
accurately so starting about three days

460
00:16:42,790 --> 00:16:39,440
after launch mms will start to release a

461
00:16:44,710 --> 00:16:42,800
set of booms uh that have very sensitive

462
00:16:46,470 --> 00:16:44,720
instruments on them we get them as far

463
00:16:48,389 --> 00:16:46,480
away from the spacecraft as possible

464
00:16:50,870 --> 00:16:48,399
because the spacecraft itself produces

465
00:16:53,189 --> 00:16:50,880
electromagnetic fields if you if you saw

466
00:16:55,189 --> 00:16:53,199
the mission briefing you you know that

467
00:16:56,629 --> 00:16:55,199
the mission spent a lot of time trying

468
00:16:59,030 --> 00:16:56,639
to reduce the magnetic electric

469
00:17:01,269 --> 00:16:59,040
signature of the spacecraft so that we

470
00:17:03,430 --> 00:17:01,279
don't measure our spacecraft itself so

471
00:17:06,150 --> 00:17:03,440
in the first video we

472
00:17:08,390 --> 00:17:06,160
show the deployment of these booms this

473
00:17:10,069 --> 00:17:08,400
is the magnetic booms deployed on about

474
00:17:12,069 --> 00:17:10,079
the third day there are two

475
00:17:13,669 --> 00:17:12,079
magnetometers on the end of five meter

476
00:17:14,789 --> 00:17:13,679
booms and another magnetometer about

477
00:17:16,309 --> 00:17:14,799
halfway in

478
00:17:18,710 --> 00:17:16,319
measuring the magnetic fields very

479
00:17:20,390 --> 00:17:18,720
sensitively and then we just deploy what

480
00:17:23,270 --> 00:17:20,400
we call the spin plane double probes

481
00:17:25,110 --> 00:17:23,280
these go out 60 meters each each one

482
00:17:27,909 --> 00:17:25,120
there are four of them so that in the

483
00:17:29,590 --> 00:17:27,919
end mms looks about the size of a

484
00:17:31,510 --> 00:17:29,600
football field

485
00:17:33,750 --> 00:17:31,520
and finally we have the axial probe

486
00:17:37,270 --> 00:17:33,760
which is a unique uh

487
00:17:39,270 --> 00:17:37,280
element of mms to measure the full three

488
00:17:42,230 --> 00:17:39,280
3d or three-dimensional

489
00:17:44,230 --> 00:17:42,240
electric field on mms now to give you an

490
00:17:46,789 --> 00:17:44,240
idea of the sensitivity the

491
00:17:48,470 --> 00:17:46,799
magnetometers are accurate on the mms to

492
00:17:50,630 --> 00:17:48,480
a tenth of a nanotesla that's about a

493
00:17:52,150 --> 00:17:50,640
millionth of the earth's field

494
00:17:54,390 --> 00:17:52,160
and the earth's field is actually not

495
00:17:56,150 --> 00:17:54,400
very strong it's about a thousandth of

496
00:17:57,909 --> 00:17:56,160
your typical

497
00:17:59,990 --> 00:17:57,919
refrigerator magnet

498
00:18:02,549 --> 00:18:00,000
and the electric antennas are accurate

499
00:18:04,470 --> 00:18:02,559
to one volt per kilometer a typical

500
00:18:06,310 --> 00:18:04,480
electric fuel you have is about 100

501
00:18:08,470 --> 00:18:06,320
volts per millimeter like in your

502
00:18:10,470 --> 00:18:08,480
extension cord so this is a factor of

503
00:18:11,830 --> 00:18:10,480
100 million better than that on those

504
00:18:13,669 --> 00:18:11,840
instruments

505
00:18:16,070 --> 00:18:13,679
in the next still you can see one of

506
00:18:18,230 --> 00:18:16,080
those axial probes a lot of development

507
00:18:19,590 --> 00:18:18,240
went into this unique contribution

508
00:18:21,750 --> 00:18:19,600
that's an engineer from the university

509
00:18:23,830 --> 00:18:21,760
of colorado and you see the spiral

510
00:18:25,830 --> 00:18:23,840
nature of that boom it's constructed so

511
00:18:28,549 --> 00:18:25,840
that as the spacecraft spins

512
00:18:31,190 --> 00:18:28,559
the signature or the capture of sunlight

513
00:18:33,430 --> 00:18:31,200
on those booms stays exactly the same so

514
00:18:36,950 --> 00:18:33,440
that the photoemission from the surfaces

515
00:18:39,590 --> 00:18:36,960
does not change as the spacecraft spins

516
00:18:41,669 --> 00:18:39,600
so to illustrate the importance of these

517
00:18:43,350 --> 00:18:41,679
fields to the process of reconnection we

518
00:18:45,990 --> 00:18:43,360
have a little simplified

519
00:18:47,750 --> 00:18:46,000
lab distribution here lab demonstration

520
00:18:49,430 --> 00:18:47,760
that we'd like to show you

521
00:18:50,950 --> 00:18:49,440
now the equations that cover

522
00:18:52,950 --> 00:18:50,960
electromagnetic fields called

523
00:18:54,870 --> 00:18:52,960
maxwell's equations and maxwell's

524
00:18:56,710 --> 00:18:54,880
equations will tell us how this

525
00:18:58,870 --> 00:18:56,720
demonstration has many similarities

526
00:19:00,710 --> 00:18:58,880
reconnection also important differences

527
00:19:02,789 --> 00:19:00,720
and so we'll talk about that too

528
00:19:04,630 --> 00:19:02,799
so what we're going to see in this wire

529
00:19:06,070 --> 00:19:04,640
is i'm going to pass a current down this

530
00:19:07,270 --> 00:19:06,080
wire

531
00:19:11,270 --> 00:19:07,280
and

532
00:19:13,430 --> 00:19:11,280
do that there will start to be a

533
00:19:16,150 --> 00:19:13,440
dissipation in this wire what max

534
00:19:18,070 --> 00:19:16,160
equations tell us is in fact the current

535
00:19:20,870 --> 00:19:18,080
sets up in a magnetic field structure

536
00:19:23,669 --> 00:19:20,880
outside this wire and the electric field

537
00:19:26,230 --> 00:19:23,679
in the wire flows the magnetic field

538
00:19:28,150 --> 00:19:26,240
in energy into this wire to cause

539
00:19:29,830 --> 00:19:28,160
dissipation now i can start to smell the

540
00:19:30,710 --> 00:19:29,840
wire and soon you'll start to see it

541
00:19:32,150 --> 00:19:30,720
heat

542
00:19:34,549 --> 00:19:32,160
okay and that's what we're doing we're

543
00:19:36,950 --> 00:19:34,559
converting magnetic field energy into

544
00:19:40,310 --> 00:19:36,960
electrical energy or heat

545
00:19:42,549 --> 00:19:40,320
now uh it's the case that if i crank up

546
00:19:44,710 --> 00:19:42,559
the current large enough in this

547
00:19:46,150 --> 00:19:44,720
particular constraint

548
00:19:48,070 --> 00:19:46,160
demonstration

549
00:19:50,070 --> 00:19:48,080
soon you'll start to see the effects of

550
00:19:52,150 --> 00:19:50,080
this and then very soon

551
00:19:55,350 --> 00:19:52,160
we will have an explosion that's very

552
00:19:57,430 --> 00:19:55,360
much like uh reconnection we released in

553
00:19:58,870 --> 00:19:57,440
this case the energy of the tension in

554
00:20:01,350 --> 00:19:58,880
this wire

555
00:20:03,430 --> 00:20:01,360
but it's those you saw that hot spot

556
00:20:05,590 --> 00:20:03,440
where we have concentrated dissipation

557
00:20:08,070 --> 00:20:05,600
and that's what we're looking for in mms

558
00:20:10,070 --> 00:20:08,080
we're trying to find those hot spots out

559
00:20:11,510 --> 00:20:10,080
in space now you can't see them like we

560
00:20:13,430 --> 00:20:11,520
could in this wire because it's a

561
00:20:14,470 --> 00:20:13,440
rarefied plasma and that's the major

562
00:20:17,350 --> 00:20:14,480
difference

563
00:20:19,669 --> 00:20:17,360
between this demonstration and

564
00:20:21,990 --> 00:20:19,679
the case of looking for reconnection in

565
00:20:23,909 --> 00:20:22,000
plasmas it's quite a bit of difference

566
00:20:26,710 --> 00:20:23,919
uh in the sense that

567
00:20:29,350 --> 00:20:26,720
in this wire i understand what happens

568
00:20:30,870 --> 00:20:29,360
uh why this wire heats up and recalls

569
00:20:32,710 --> 00:20:30,880
this dissipation

570
00:20:34,789 --> 00:20:32,720
as it gets hotter since the wire is

571
00:20:36,710 --> 00:20:34,799
under tension it thins

572
00:20:38,390 --> 00:20:36,720
the resistance goes up but the current

573
00:20:40,390 --> 00:20:38,400
has stayed the same because i adjusted

574
00:20:42,230 --> 00:20:40,400
this power supply that way and so what

575
00:20:43,909 --> 00:20:42,240
happens eventually is all the

576
00:20:46,950 --> 00:20:43,919
dissipation goes into a very small

577
00:20:49,110 --> 00:20:46,960
region and then it separates the wire

578
00:20:52,149 --> 00:20:49,120
mms is investigating reconnection

579
00:20:54,870 --> 00:20:52,159
because we do not understand at all

580
00:20:56,870 --> 00:20:54,880
what causes the dissipation in plasmas

581
00:20:58,630 --> 00:20:56,880
if in fact if you look at current theory

582
00:21:01,430 --> 00:20:58,640
it should say it should never happen

583
00:21:03,909 --> 00:21:01,440
because a plasma is very much

584
00:21:06,310 --> 00:21:03,919
almost almost a superconductor not quite

585
00:21:08,310 --> 00:21:06,320
a very good conductor and it should

586
00:21:09,350 --> 00:21:08,320
never have dissipation like we saw in

587
00:21:11,990 --> 00:21:09,360
this distrib

588
00:21:14,149 --> 00:21:12,000
this demonstration it would be like all

589
00:21:17,029 --> 00:21:14,159
of a sudden all your high tension lines

590
00:21:18,710 --> 00:21:17,039
uh exploded for a reason that you didn't

591
00:21:20,230 --> 00:21:18,720
even know because they should be good

592
00:21:23,029 --> 00:21:20,240
conductors they should take the energy

593
00:21:25,350 --> 00:21:23,039
from the power plant uh to to to your

594
00:21:28,310 --> 00:21:25,360
home but all of a sudden they don't

595
00:21:30,789 --> 00:21:28,320
so what we seek to find in in

596
00:21:33,270 --> 00:21:30,799
mms is to find those hot spots and if we

597
00:21:35,190 --> 00:21:33,280
can get our four spacecraft with those

598
00:21:37,190 --> 00:21:35,200
sensitive instruments around those hot

599
00:21:38,870 --> 00:21:37,200
spots then we can understand what the

600
00:21:42,070 --> 00:21:38,880
electromagnetic fields are doing and

601
00:21:44,310 --> 00:21:42,080
telling us about that dissipation

602
00:21:46,070 --> 00:21:44,320
and the other remarkable thing about

603
00:21:47,110 --> 00:21:46,080
reconnection is that

604
00:21:49,190 --> 00:21:47,120
this

605
00:21:51,350 --> 00:21:49,200
dissipation is in heat or disorganized

606
00:21:53,110 --> 00:21:51,360
energy in fact it's remarkable in

607
00:21:55,909 --> 00:21:53,120
reconnection that you get organized

608
00:21:57,590 --> 00:21:55,919
energy organized plasma flows and dr

609
00:21:59,270 --> 00:21:57,600
pollock's instruments will measure those

610
00:22:01,750 --> 00:21:59,280
plasma flows

611
00:22:03,750 --> 00:22:01,760
via the fast plasma instrument and those

612
00:22:05,590 --> 00:22:03,760
plasma flows are almost at the what is

613
00:22:07,669 --> 00:22:05,600
the effective light speed in a plasma

614
00:22:09,270 --> 00:22:07,679
called the alphane speed and to know

615
00:22:11,590 --> 00:22:09,280
that speed we have to find the

616
00:22:13,190 --> 00:22:11,600
composition we do that via an instrument

617
00:22:15,590 --> 00:22:13,200
called the hot plasma composition

618
00:22:18,070 --> 00:22:15,600
analyzer that tells us how much oxygen

619
00:22:20,390 --> 00:22:18,080
helium and hydrogen they are in these

620
00:22:22,310 --> 00:22:20,400
regions and then the other remarkable

621
00:22:24,310 --> 00:22:22,320
thing is there's a lot of energetic

622
00:22:26,710 --> 00:22:24,320
electrons some of which you saw create

623
00:22:28,390 --> 00:22:26,720
aurora in those storms it's remarkable

624
00:22:29,430 --> 00:22:28,400
how much of that energy goes into those

625
00:22:32,950 --> 00:22:29,440
energetic

626
00:22:33,990 --> 00:22:32,960
particle detector to measure those

627
00:22:36,230 --> 00:22:34,000
particles

628
00:22:38,630 --> 00:22:36,240
so with that i'll turn it to craig to

629
00:22:40,789 --> 00:22:38,640
tell us more about those instruments

630
00:22:42,630 --> 00:22:40,799
thank you roy uh it's a great

631
00:22:44,789 --> 00:22:42,640
demonstration

632
00:22:47,029 --> 00:22:44,799
uh i'm as roy said the leader of the

633
00:22:49,909 --> 00:22:47,039
fast plasma investigation

634
00:22:51,350 --> 00:22:49,919
uh which involves a lot of hardware

635
00:22:53,029 --> 00:22:51,360
and that's what i'd like to talk about

636
00:22:55,430 --> 00:22:53,039
here is is really the

637
00:22:57,750 --> 00:22:55,440
the volume of hardware we have in this

638
00:23:00,070 --> 00:22:57,760
mission in these experiments it's it's

639
00:23:02,310 --> 00:23:00,080
really unprecedented

640
00:23:05,110 --> 00:23:02,320
and i want to try to give you a sense

641
00:23:06,390 --> 00:23:05,120
for why we have so much hardware

642
00:23:11,029 --> 00:23:06,400
and

643
00:23:14,149 --> 00:23:11,039
interesting video that uh

644
00:23:16,390 --> 00:23:14,159
shows sort of a frenetic uh activity in

645
00:23:17,830 --> 00:23:16,400
assembling some of the hardware

646
00:23:18,870 --> 00:23:17,840
so if i could have the first graphic

647
00:23:21,110 --> 00:23:18,880
please

648
00:23:22,789 --> 00:23:21,120
uh you've seen this graphic before what

649
00:23:25,270 --> 00:23:22,799
you're looking at here is a simplified

650
00:23:27,190 --> 00:23:25,280
diagram of the earth's magnetosphere

651
00:23:30,149 --> 00:23:27,200
the sun is off to the left

652
00:23:32,390 --> 00:23:30,159
and the earth is the is there obviously

653
00:23:34,630 --> 00:23:32,400
as the source of the earth's magnetic

654
00:23:36,549 --> 00:23:34,640
field and then there are the two boxes

655
00:23:38,789 --> 00:23:36,559
that dr birch pointed out

656
00:23:40,390 --> 00:23:38,799
one on the sunward side in what we call

657
00:23:42,149 --> 00:23:40,400
the magnetopause

658
00:23:44,070 --> 00:23:42,159
the other on the tailward side in the

659
00:23:46,149 --> 00:23:44,080
geomagnetic tail

660
00:23:48,390 --> 00:23:46,159
these are the locations

661
00:23:51,190 --> 00:23:48,400
where magnetic reconnection is expected

662
00:23:53,669 --> 00:23:51,200
to happen and these are the targets

663
00:23:55,270 --> 00:23:53,679
of what we call the regions of interest

664
00:23:56,789 --> 00:23:55,280
for our

665
00:23:59,430 --> 00:23:56,799
our flight mission

666
00:24:01,270 --> 00:23:59,440
now one thing to remember the location

667
00:24:03,029 --> 00:24:01,280
of the magnetopause at that box on the

668
00:24:05,350 --> 00:24:03,039
sunward side

669
00:24:08,630 --> 00:24:05,360
that's not at a fixed location

670
00:24:11,269 --> 00:24:08,640
it moves the solar wind which is uh

671
00:24:13,029 --> 00:24:11,279
always blowing past the earth at at very

672
00:24:14,470 --> 00:24:13,039
very high speeds

673
00:24:17,830 --> 00:24:14,480
approximately

674
00:24:20,230 --> 00:24:17,840
250 miles per second

675
00:24:23,510 --> 00:24:20,240
is not a steady wind it's a gusty

676
00:24:25,669 --> 00:24:23,520
dynamic wind it buffets the earth

677
00:24:27,190 --> 00:24:25,679
and therefore in response to that

678
00:24:31,029 --> 00:24:27,200
dynamic pressure

679
00:24:33,750 --> 00:24:31,039
the magnetopause moves back and forth

680
00:24:35,350 --> 00:24:33,760
very rapidly at the magnetos the

681
00:24:36,630 --> 00:24:35,360
magnetopause

682
00:24:38,230 --> 00:24:36,640
the boundary between the earth's

683
00:24:39,590 --> 00:24:38,240
magnetic field and the interplanetary

684
00:24:42,549 --> 00:24:39,600
magnetic field

685
00:24:46,070 --> 00:24:42,559
moves back and forth with typical speeds

686
00:24:47,990 --> 00:24:46,080
of 50 to 100 kilometers per second so

687
00:24:49,430 --> 00:24:48,000
we're we're looking for a very fast

688
00:24:50,950 --> 00:24:49,440
moving target

689
00:24:52,470 --> 00:24:50,960
right now if i could have the next chart

690
00:24:55,430 --> 00:24:52,480
please

691
00:24:56,230 --> 00:24:55,440
so in this chart uh you see

692
00:24:57,510 --> 00:24:56,240
sort of

693
00:25:00,549 --> 00:24:57,520
it it's a

694
00:25:02,789 --> 00:25:00,559
sequential zoom in if you will on the

695
00:25:03,909 --> 00:25:02,799
far right again is

696
00:25:06,470 --> 00:25:03,919
on on

697
00:25:08,470 --> 00:25:06,480
similar scale to the previous chart

698
00:25:10,789 --> 00:25:08,480
a diagram of the earth's magnetosphere

699
00:25:12,789 --> 00:25:10,799
earth is at the extreme right kind of

700
00:25:15,350 --> 00:25:12,799
colored orange there and you see a

701
00:25:16,870 --> 00:25:15,360
little blue box the roughly the same

702
00:25:17,909 --> 00:25:16,880
scale that i showed you in the last

703
00:25:19,909 --> 00:25:17,919
chart

704
00:25:21,029 --> 00:25:19,919
but then if you zoom into that blue box

705
00:25:23,510 --> 00:25:21,039
a little bit

706
00:25:25,430 --> 00:25:23,520
you see a region a more localized region

707
00:25:27,269 --> 00:25:25,440
of the magnetopause i don't know if you

708
00:25:30,070 --> 00:25:27,279
can read the scale sizes at the bottom

709
00:25:31,669 --> 00:25:30,080
of the figures on the far right panel is

710
00:25:35,110 --> 00:25:31,679
about a hundred thousand kilometers

711
00:25:36,789 --> 00:25:35,120
which is about 60 70 000 miles in the

712
00:25:41,110 --> 00:25:36,799
center panel we've zoomed down to where

713
00:25:43,110 --> 00:25:41,120
the width is about 500 kilometers or

714
00:25:45,909 --> 00:25:43,120
300 miles or so

715
00:25:48,630 --> 00:25:45,919
and then finally we zoom in again

716
00:25:50,390 --> 00:25:48,640
to the area that contains uh what jim

717
00:25:53,110 --> 00:25:50,400
referred to as the electron diffusion

718
00:25:54,710 --> 00:25:53,120
region and that box is only about 100

719
00:25:57,350 --> 00:25:54,720
kilometers across

720
00:26:00,230 --> 00:25:57,360
right and the place where the action all

721
00:26:02,870 --> 00:26:00,240
occurs within the diffusion region is

722
00:26:04,070 --> 00:26:02,880
only about 10 kilometers or six miles

723
00:26:06,310 --> 00:26:04,080
across

724
00:26:07,990 --> 00:26:06,320
so you got this little feature

725
00:26:10,789 --> 00:26:08,000
six miles across

726
00:26:12,710 --> 00:26:10,799
moving past you at

727
00:26:14,870 --> 00:26:12,720
50 miles per second

728
00:26:16,870 --> 00:26:14,880
right and you got to capture the details

729
00:26:18,710 --> 00:26:16,880
with four spacecraft

730
00:26:20,710 --> 00:26:18,720
inside that feature

731
00:26:21,590 --> 00:26:20,720
uh in order to understand what's going

732
00:26:24,390 --> 00:26:21,600
on

733
00:26:26,950 --> 00:26:24,400
four spacecraft gives you the 3d

734
00:26:29,909 --> 00:26:26,960
but on each spacecraft we need to make

735
00:26:32,230 --> 00:26:29,919
our measurements very very rapidly in

736
00:26:34,070 --> 00:26:32,240
order to capture the feature as it moves

737
00:26:36,230 --> 00:26:34,080
past us so if i could have the next

738
00:26:36,950 --> 00:26:36,240
chart please

739
00:26:40,710 --> 00:26:36,960
so

740
00:26:42,390 --> 00:26:40,720
elements

741
00:26:44,070 --> 00:26:42,400
of uh

742
00:26:46,870 --> 00:26:44,080
one of the instruments one of the

743
00:26:49,110 --> 00:26:46,880
sensors in the fast plasma investigation

744
00:26:51,590 --> 00:26:49,120
in the center of the figure you see what

745
00:26:54,950 --> 00:26:51,600
looks like kind of a two-headed box

746
00:26:58,230 --> 00:26:54,960
that's a dual electron spectrometer

747
00:27:00,470 --> 00:26:58,240
which is one of the two core instruments

748
00:27:02,470 --> 00:27:00,480
for the fast plasma investigation

749
00:27:05,110 --> 00:27:02,480
the dual electron spectrometer has two

750
00:27:06,950 --> 00:27:05,120
sensor heads therefore the word dual

751
00:27:08,789 --> 00:27:06,960
and in a measure it measures the fluxes

752
00:27:12,470 --> 00:27:08,799
of electrons and ions

753
00:27:15,430 --> 00:27:12,480
uh i'm sorry fluxes of electrons

754
00:27:18,070 --> 00:27:15,440
at a very rapid pace

755
00:27:19,029 --> 00:27:18,080
but not rapid enough by itself that one

756
00:27:21,029 --> 00:27:19,039
box

757
00:27:23,110 --> 00:27:21,039
in order to capture the features we need

758
00:27:24,310 --> 00:27:23,120
to capture as rapidly as we need to

759
00:27:26,549 --> 00:27:24,320
capture them

760
00:27:28,070 --> 00:27:26,559
so our approach to that

761
00:27:30,149 --> 00:27:28,080
typically

762
00:27:31,110 --> 00:27:30,159
the mms spacecraft will spin and they'll

763
00:27:34,230 --> 00:27:31,120
spin

764
00:27:37,269 --> 00:27:34,240
3rpm three rotations per minute about a

765
00:27:39,430 --> 00:27:37,279
20-second spin period that's far too

766
00:27:42,070 --> 00:27:39,440
long to wait to have your instrument

767
00:27:44,789 --> 00:27:42,080
spin around and get a view of all space

768
00:27:47,750 --> 00:27:44,799
so our approach has been to proliferate

769
00:27:51,190 --> 00:27:47,760
many instruments around the perimeter so

770
00:27:53,269 --> 00:27:51,200
we've built 16 of those dual electron

771
00:27:56,310 --> 00:27:53,279
spectrometers to measure the electron

772
00:27:58,230 --> 00:27:56,320
flows and fluxes and 16

773
00:28:00,310 --> 00:27:58,240
dual ion spectrometers which will

774
00:28:02,310 --> 00:28:00,320
measure very similar instruments but not

775
00:28:04,310 --> 00:28:02,320
identical and they'll measure the ion

776
00:28:06,870 --> 00:28:04,320
fluxes

777
00:28:09,510 --> 00:28:06,880
if you'd go to the next chart please

778
00:28:11,510 --> 00:28:09,520
so here's the four first four

779
00:28:14,389 --> 00:28:11,520
dual electron spectrometers that rolled

780
00:28:16,389 --> 00:28:14,399
off the line i call it a line but

781
00:28:19,029 --> 00:28:16,399
not really an assembly line they each

782
00:28:21,590 --> 00:28:19,039
take a lot of tender loving care that's

783
00:28:23,590 --> 00:28:21,600
myself on the left and our chief

784
00:28:25,110 --> 00:28:23,600
engineer on the project a guy by the

785
00:28:26,310 --> 00:28:25,120
name of ulrich gleese

786
00:28:30,950 --> 00:28:26,320
on your right

787
00:28:32,789 --> 00:28:30,960
and that was uh roughly december 2012

788
00:28:35,590 --> 00:28:32,799
when we heard had those four first four

789
00:28:36,549 --> 00:28:35,600
complete instruments on the clean bench

790
00:28:39,590 --> 00:28:36,559
now

791
00:28:40,389 --> 00:28:39,600
there's so many

792
00:28:41,590 --> 00:28:40,399
uh

793
00:28:43,669 --> 00:28:41,600
elements of the fast plasma

794
00:28:46,470 --> 00:28:43,679
investigation it's also true of the

795
00:28:48,710 --> 00:28:46,480
fields experiments the the boom

796
00:28:50,389 --> 00:28:48,720
deployments that roy just described you

797
00:28:54,389 --> 00:28:50,399
know four

798
00:28:57,190 --> 00:28:54,399
uh extending uh 60 meter booms on each

799
00:29:00,310 --> 00:28:57,200
of the four spacecraft that's 16 units

800
00:29:02,630 --> 00:29:00,320
to get together 16 of those axial booms

801
00:29:03,750 --> 00:29:02,640
which extend 30 meters out either

802
00:29:06,630 --> 00:29:03,760
direction

803
00:29:08,230 --> 00:29:06,640
just a whole lot of uh hardware has gone

804
00:29:10,630 --> 00:29:08,240
into this and that's one of the reasons

805
00:29:11,909 --> 00:29:10,640
why it's taken us this many years to get

806
00:29:13,350 --> 00:29:11,919
to this point where we're ready to

807
00:29:15,990 --> 00:29:13,360
actually fly it

808
00:29:18,070 --> 00:29:16,000
if i could have the next chart please

809
00:29:20,310 --> 00:29:18,080
so here's another stage of quite an

810
00:29:22,310 --> 00:29:20,320
advanced stage in the development of the

811
00:29:24,549 --> 00:29:22,320
mission what you see in this picture

812
00:29:26,950 --> 00:29:24,559
there are two mms spacecraft in the

813
00:29:29,590 --> 00:29:26,960
picture in the back of the the room

814
00:29:31,669 --> 00:29:29,600
there you see a giant vacuum chamber

815
00:29:34,549 --> 00:29:31,679
that's a thermal vacuum chamber where we

816
00:29:36,230 --> 00:29:34,559
test uh we put the entire spacecraft in

817
00:29:37,909 --> 00:29:36,240
there you can see the kind of black

818
00:29:39,590 --> 00:29:37,919
colored solar panels

819
00:29:41,430 --> 00:29:39,600
and we run it through about a two-week

820
00:29:43,750 --> 00:29:41,440
test

821
00:29:46,149 --> 00:29:43,760
cycling temperature up and down to

822
00:29:47,990 --> 00:29:46,159
ensure that the spacecraft can endure

823
00:29:50,310 --> 00:29:48,000
the temperature variations and rigors

824
00:29:51,269 --> 00:29:50,320
that it will encounter while it's uh in

825
00:29:52,950 --> 00:29:51,279
flight

826
00:29:55,750 --> 00:29:52,960
and then to the right

827
00:29:57,430 --> 00:29:55,760
you can see another spacecraft it's got

828
00:29:59,590 --> 00:29:57,440
the covers on the solar panels so they

829
00:30:01,510 --> 00:29:59,600
don't appear black red covers on the

830
00:30:02,950 --> 00:30:01,520
instrument apertures and that one's

831
00:30:04,950 --> 00:30:02,960
waiting in the wings it'll be the next

832
00:30:07,510 --> 00:30:04,960
one to go into the thermal vacuum

833
00:30:10,789 --> 00:30:07,520
chamber so all four spacecraft were run

834
00:30:13,510 --> 00:30:10,799
through this thermal vacuum sequence

835
00:30:15,909 --> 00:30:13,520
very successfully and very efficiently

836
00:30:17,750 --> 00:30:15,919
next chart please

837
00:30:20,310 --> 00:30:17,760
so in this chart we

838
00:30:21,990 --> 00:30:20,320
this is a in a clean room up at goddard

839
00:30:24,470 --> 00:30:22,000
space flight center again a very

840
00:30:27,190 --> 00:30:24,480
advanced stage you can see

841
00:30:30,389 --> 00:30:27,200
all four spacecraft all with their solar

842
00:30:31,750 --> 00:30:30,399
panel protective covers on

843
00:30:33,830 --> 00:30:31,760
sitting

844
00:30:37,669 --> 00:30:33,840
around the distributed around the floor

845
00:30:39,590 --> 00:30:37,679
of the clean room on platforms and

846
00:30:40,630 --> 00:30:39,600
that's just before a really important

847
00:30:45,510 --> 00:30:40,640
stage

848
00:30:47,909 --> 00:30:45,520
stacked up in a stack of four which is

849
00:30:51,110 --> 00:30:47,919
exactly their launch configuration

850
00:30:53,750 --> 00:30:51,120
in order to vibrate them and

851
00:30:56,310 --> 00:30:53,760
shake them real hard to ensure

852
00:30:57,269 --> 00:30:56,320
that they can withstand the vibratory uh

853
00:30:59,350 --> 00:30:57,279
rigors

854
00:31:01,029 --> 00:30:59,360
of the powered launch phase

855
00:31:02,789 --> 00:31:01,039
so what i'd like to do

856
00:31:06,389 --> 00:31:02,799
here is i won't speak much through it

857
00:31:07,510 --> 00:31:06,399
but i'll show you a time lapse video

858
00:31:09,990 --> 00:31:07,520
it's a

859
00:31:12,230 --> 00:31:10,000
three days compressed to one minute

860
00:31:15,430 --> 00:31:12,240
of the assembly

861
00:31:18,149 --> 00:31:15,440
of those four spacecraft into the four

862
00:31:20,149 --> 00:31:18,159
stack launch configuration

863
00:31:21,590 --> 00:31:20,159
and of course this all happens in a

864
00:31:22,950 --> 00:31:21,600
clean room

865
00:31:25,990 --> 00:31:22,960
uh

866
00:31:28,710 --> 00:31:26,000
uncomfortable working all day

867
00:31:30,230 --> 00:31:28,720
in those clean garbs with usually masks

868
00:31:31,909 --> 00:31:30,240
over your face and

869
00:31:33,269 --> 00:31:31,919
everything covered but it's necessary in

870
00:31:36,070 --> 00:31:33,279
order to keep the cleanliness of the

871
00:31:37,509 --> 00:31:36,080
spacecraft that we require

872
00:31:40,630 --> 00:31:37,519
many of these instruments are highly

873
00:31:42,710 --> 00:31:40,640
contamination sensitive

874
00:31:49,990 --> 00:31:42,720
so when i said frenetic activity this

875
00:31:54,870 --> 00:31:52,149
this uh this activity was was filmed

876
00:31:56,789 --> 00:31:54,880
using the gopro cameras

877
00:31:58,789 --> 00:31:56,799
they had to be moved occasionally in

878
00:32:10,789 --> 00:31:58,799
order to catch the right views

879
00:32:14,630 --> 00:32:12,549
a lot of work a lot of work over a

880
00:32:16,070 --> 00:32:14,640
period of years a lot of work just over

881
00:32:19,669 --> 00:32:16,080
those three days

882
00:32:21,509 --> 00:32:19,679
right and so now

883
00:32:23,750 --> 00:32:21,519
if you show the next chart please which

884
00:32:25,750 --> 00:32:23,760
i believe is my final chart

885
00:32:28,789 --> 00:32:25,760
there is the four stack

886
00:32:31,029 --> 00:32:28,799
of mms spacecraft

887
00:32:33,110 --> 00:32:31,039
on to the left and right you can see the

888
00:32:36,149 --> 00:32:33,120
two halves of the atlas

889
00:32:38,630 --> 00:32:36,159
shroud so this is immediately before

890
00:32:40,870 --> 00:32:38,640
encapsulation into the shroud

891
00:32:42,470 --> 00:32:40,880
just a couple of weeks ago now

892
00:32:44,310 --> 00:32:42,480
and

893
00:32:46,230 --> 00:32:44,320
that has now happened

894
00:32:48,470 --> 00:32:46,240
the shroud has been mounted on the top

895
00:32:49,590 --> 00:32:48,480
of the rocket and the rocket moved out

896
00:32:50,870 --> 00:32:49,600
to the pad

897
00:32:53,430 --> 00:32:50,880
and we're just

898
00:32:55,509 --> 00:32:53,440
absolutely thrilled to be at this stage

899
00:32:57,590 --> 00:32:55,519
after a lot of really hard work on the

900
00:32:58,549 --> 00:32:57,600
part of a whole lot of people

901
00:33:00,549 --> 00:32:58,559
and

902
00:33:01,990 --> 00:33:00,559
having described that stuff i'd like to

903
00:33:03,590 --> 00:33:02,000
turn it over to paul

904
00:33:05,110 --> 00:33:03,600
and he'll tell you a little more about

905
00:33:06,950 --> 00:33:05,120
science

906
00:33:08,389 --> 00:33:06,960
thank you craig so uh yeah i'm a

907
00:33:10,870 --> 00:33:08,399
scientist that studies magnetic

908
00:33:13,269 --> 00:33:10,880
reconnection um one of maybe a few

909
00:33:16,149 --> 00:33:13,279
thousand in the in the world that uh

910
00:33:18,149 --> 00:33:16,159
study this process and uh you know we're

911
00:33:19,029 --> 00:33:18,159
universities national labs across the

912
00:33:21,350 --> 00:33:19,039
world

913
00:33:22,950 --> 00:33:21,360
and uh there's a group of them just down

914
00:33:24,470 --> 00:33:22,960
the road that are having last minute

915
00:33:26,470 --> 00:33:24,480
meetings and i got to tell you the place

916
00:33:30,389 --> 00:33:26,480
is a buzz everyone is just really

917
00:33:33,190 --> 00:33:30,399
excited for this day for tomorrow and

918
00:33:35,350 --> 00:33:33,200
so you know what's so exciting about mms

919
00:33:36,310 --> 00:33:35,360
for us is that we're going to be able to

920
00:33:38,230 --> 00:33:36,320
see

921
00:33:39,909 --> 00:33:38,240
the region of reconnection where the

922
00:33:41,350 --> 00:33:39,919
magnetic field lines break and that's

923
00:33:43,909 --> 00:33:41,360
something we've never been able to see

924
00:33:45,430 --> 00:33:43,919
before and so it's just really exciting

925
00:33:47,990 --> 00:33:45,440
that the folks to the right have just

926
00:33:49,830 --> 00:33:48,000
done a fantastic job of getting this all

927
00:33:52,870 --> 00:33:49,840
ready basically building a lab and

928
00:33:55,269 --> 00:33:52,880
sending it a lab through space so so

929
00:33:56,950 --> 00:33:55,279
everyone's really excited about it

930
00:33:59,350 --> 00:33:56,960
what i wanted to do is kind of take you

931
00:34:00,549 --> 00:33:59,360
through some of the science that we've

932
00:34:02,070 --> 00:34:00,559
heard a little bit about but i want to

933
00:34:03,990 --> 00:34:02,080
go through a little more detail and

934
00:34:05,830 --> 00:34:04,000
maybe some detail about roy's

935
00:34:07,269 --> 00:34:05,840
demonstration here

936
00:34:09,669 --> 00:34:07,279
so when we hear about magnetic

937
00:34:11,349 --> 00:34:09,679
reconnection you know it doesn't you

938
00:34:13,270 --> 00:34:11,359
know it doesn't seem like something we

939
00:34:14,629 --> 00:34:13,280
can really grasp so i want to show you

940
00:34:16,869 --> 00:34:14,639
that it's actually something that you

941
00:34:18,310 --> 00:34:16,879
have at least some experience with if

942
00:34:20,230 --> 00:34:18,320
you've ever played with magnets so

943
00:34:21,750 --> 00:34:20,240
here's two magnets this one's shaped

944
00:34:22,869 --> 00:34:21,760
like the earth but there's a magnet

945
00:34:24,629 --> 00:34:22,879
inside

946
00:34:25,990 --> 00:34:24,639
so we all know from playing with magnets

947
00:34:27,829 --> 00:34:26,000
that if you bring them together and

948
00:34:30,710 --> 00:34:27,839
they're both oriented the same direction

949
00:34:32,790 --> 00:34:30,720
they push apart and if you flip them one

950
00:34:34,310 --> 00:34:32,800
upside down then they attract and so

951
00:34:37,190 --> 00:34:34,320
what's going on here is that you have

952
00:34:38,869 --> 00:34:37,200
magnetic fields coming out and around

953
00:34:40,710 --> 00:34:38,879
on both of these and so if they're

954
00:34:42,629 --> 00:34:40,720
pointed the same direction you squeeze

955
00:34:44,310 --> 00:34:42,639
those magnetic fields together and they

956
00:34:46,389 --> 00:34:44,320
basically push back and that's why you

957
00:34:48,230 --> 00:34:46,399
can't push the magnet together but when

958
00:34:49,909 --> 00:34:48,240
you flip them and one's opposite to the

959
00:34:51,669 --> 00:34:49,919
other the magnetic fields point in

960
00:34:52,790 --> 00:34:51,679
opposite directions right and what

961
00:34:54,310 --> 00:34:52,800
happens is

962
00:34:56,950 --> 00:34:54,320
if they're pointing opposite directions

963
00:34:58,950 --> 00:34:56,960
they join they break and they shoot out

964
00:34:59,990 --> 00:34:58,960
the top and the bottom and that's what

965
00:35:02,150 --> 00:35:00,000
allows

966
00:35:03,670 --> 00:35:02,160
since there's no less magnetic fields in

967
00:35:05,190 --> 00:35:03,680
between that allows them to come

968
00:35:06,310 --> 00:35:05,200
together and that's what you feel is the

969
00:35:08,470 --> 00:35:06,320
attraction

970
00:35:10,870 --> 00:35:08,480
so magnetic fields breaking is actually

971
00:35:11,910 --> 00:35:10,880
something that is somewhat familiar to

972
00:35:13,430 --> 00:35:11,920
us

973
00:35:15,430 --> 00:35:13,440
what's different about magnetic

974
00:35:17,670 --> 00:35:15,440
reconnection in space is that rather

975
00:35:18,790 --> 00:35:17,680
than this room where it's just made up

976
00:35:21,190 --> 00:35:18,800
of air

977
00:35:23,910 --> 00:35:21,200
in space it's made up of a plasma

978
00:35:26,710 --> 00:35:23,920
and a plasma is a really hot gas and hot

979
00:35:29,750 --> 00:35:26,720
gases like plasmas respond to magnetic

980
00:35:31,829 --> 00:35:29,760
fields so if in this room if we had a

981
00:35:33,430 --> 00:35:31,839
plasma instead of air

982
00:35:35,349 --> 00:35:33,440
as we bring these magnets together and

983
00:35:37,670 --> 00:35:35,359
they come together the magnetic fields

984
00:35:40,069 --> 00:35:37,680
would break and as we saw in some of the

985
00:35:41,670 --> 00:35:40,079
images you'd get a jet of plasma going

986
00:35:43,829 --> 00:35:41,680
up and down just shooting out the sides

987
00:35:46,150 --> 00:35:43,839
you get a spark kind of like what roy

988
00:35:47,750 --> 00:35:46,160
showed in his demonstration okay so

989
00:35:50,230 --> 00:35:47,760
those two things together basically give

990
00:35:52,710 --> 00:35:50,240
you magnetic reconnection

991
00:35:53,589 --> 00:35:52,720
so what i want to do next is show you uh

992
00:35:56,230 --> 00:35:53,599
some

993
00:35:58,310 --> 00:35:56,240
an animation of how that works in space

994
00:35:59,510 --> 00:35:58,320
in the near earth environment so if we

995
00:36:01,109 --> 00:35:59,520
can bring up

996
00:36:03,829 --> 00:36:01,119
this image

997
00:36:06,069 --> 00:36:03,839
in the middle is represented

998
00:36:07,910 --> 00:36:06,079
represents the earth and those big

999
00:36:10,550 --> 00:36:07,920
yellow lines represent magnetic field

1000
00:36:12,150 --> 00:36:10,560
lines so you can see a number of them go

1001
00:36:13,670 --> 00:36:12,160
from the top of the earth to the bottom

1002
00:36:15,270 --> 00:36:13,680
those are the ones within the

1003
00:36:16,870 --> 00:36:15,280
magnetosphere

1004
00:36:19,190 --> 00:36:16,880
on the left you see one that's kind of

1005
00:36:21,670 --> 00:36:19,200
open it doesn't connect to the earth so

1006
00:36:25,190 --> 00:36:21,680
this one is getting blown in

1007
00:36:26,870 --> 00:36:25,200
by the sun by the solar wind and it's

1008
00:36:28,870 --> 00:36:26,880
pointed in an opposite direction to the

1009
00:36:31,430 --> 00:36:28,880
earth's magnetic field and so what's

1010
00:36:33,030 --> 00:36:31,440
going to happen when it moves uh to the

1011
00:36:34,710 --> 00:36:33,040
right is it's going to that magnetic

1012
00:36:36,390 --> 00:36:34,720
field is going to break and that's

1013
00:36:38,390 --> 00:36:36,400
magnetic reconnection

1014
00:36:41,270 --> 00:36:38,400
so let's go ahead and roll the movie

1015
00:36:42,550 --> 00:36:41,280
and you can see it come in and break

1016
00:36:44,390 --> 00:36:42,560
and that's again the magnetic

1017
00:36:46,150 --> 00:36:44,400
reconnection process and you see it

1018
00:36:47,430 --> 00:36:46,160
doesn't stop there that was the dayside

1019
00:36:49,990 --> 00:36:47,440
one but now

1020
00:36:52,390 --> 00:36:50,000
those magnetic field lines get dragged

1021
00:36:54,310 --> 00:36:52,400
away from the sun to the magneto tail

1022
00:36:57,670 --> 00:36:54,320
and they're again opposite oppositely

1023
00:36:59,670 --> 00:36:57,680
directed and those break and it can

1024
00:37:00,870 --> 00:36:59,680
shoot particles back towards the earth

1025
00:37:03,190 --> 00:37:00,880
and we've heard that magnetic

1026
00:37:05,349 --> 00:37:03,200
reconnection plays a strong uh part of

1027
00:37:06,950 --> 00:37:05,359
space weather so it's shooting those

1028
00:37:08,470 --> 00:37:06,960
particles back towards earth that can

1029
00:37:11,030 --> 00:37:08,480
cause the problems with space weather

1030
00:37:14,630 --> 00:37:11,040
like satellites or

1031
00:37:17,430 --> 00:37:14,640
communication problems things like that

1032
00:37:21,589 --> 00:37:19,349
so the other thing you can see from that

1033
00:37:23,030 --> 00:37:21,599
animation is that

1034
00:37:25,190 --> 00:37:23,040
you have things happening on very

1035
00:37:27,190 --> 00:37:25,200
different scales and that's why the mms

1036
00:37:29,910 --> 00:37:27,200
mission is called mms magnet

1037
00:37:31,510 --> 00:37:29,920
magnetospheric multiscale so multiscale

1038
00:37:33,589 --> 00:37:31,520
refers to the idea that you have

1039
00:37:35,190 --> 00:37:33,599
something happening in a very small

1040
00:37:37,190 --> 00:37:35,200
region of space

1041
00:37:38,870 --> 00:37:37,200
where the magnetic field lines break and

1042
00:37:40,790 --> 00:37:38,880
it affects what's going on in a very

1043
00:37:43,750 --> 00:37:40,800
large region of space so as we've heard

1044
00:37:46,069 --> 00:37:43,760
the entire uh reconnection process

1045
00:37:47,990 --> 00:37:46,079
happens only over six miles you know 10

1046
00:37:49,510 --> 00:37:48,000
kilometers and the whole magnetosphere

1047
00:37:51,430 --> 00:37:49,520
is about 100 or sorry it's about a

1048
00:37:52,870 --> 00:37:51,440
million miles

1049
00:37:56,630 --> 00:37:52,880
so something that happens in a very

1050
00:37:58,630 --> 00:37:56,640
small place affects the large scale and

1051
00:38:00,069 --> 00:37:58,640
as we've heard we've had we have

1052
00:38:02,230 --> 00:38:00,079
instruments up there that measure the

1053
00:38:03,990 --> 00:38:02,240
large scale and what we've never had is

1054
00:38:05,990 --> 00:38:04,000
an instrument to measure the very

1055
00:38:07,510 --> 00:38:06,000
smallest scale so that's what mms is

1056
00:38:10,150 --> 00:38:07,520
going to be doing for us is measuring

1057
00:38:10,950 --> 00:38:10,160
those smallest scales

1058
00:38:12,470 --> 00:38:10,960
so

1059
00:38:14,470 --> 00:38:12,480
another thing i wanted to share with you

1060
00:38:16,069 --> 00:38:14,480
is we've talked about

1061
00:38:18,470 --> 00:38:16,079
solar flares and that reconnection

1062
00:38:20,310 --> 00:38:18,480
happens in on the sun and many other

1063
00:38:22,950 --> 00:38:20,320
places in the universe

1064
00:38:25,829 --> 00:38:22,960
it can happen in fusion devices

1065
00:38:27,510 --> 00:38:25,839
it happens at the edge of the solar

1066
00:38:29,270 --> 00:38:27,520
system where where it runs into

1067
00:38:31,270 --> 00:38:29,280
interstellar space

1068
00:38:33,030 --> 00:38:31,280
can happen at compact objects like

1069
00:38:34,630 --> 00:38:33,040
neutron stars and black holes these

1070
00:38:36,550 --> 00:38:34,640
kinds of things so i wanted to show you

1071
00:38:38,470 --> 00:38:36,560
an example of reconnection happening in

1072
00:38:41,030 --> 00:38:38,480
the sun so if we can bring up the next

1073
00:38:44,230 --> 00:38:41,040
image what we're looking at here is an

1074
00:38:46,150 --> 00:38:44,240
image from the nasa sdo satellite the

1075
00:38:47,589 --> 00:38:46,160
space or sorry the solar dynamics

1076
00:38:49,190 --> 00:38:47,599
observatory

1077
00:38:53,270 --> 00:38:49,200
this is what the sun would look like if

1078
00:38:55,430 --> 00:38:53,280
we could see in the ultraviolet range

1079
00:38:56,470 --> 00:38:55,440
and what we see here is a number of

1080
00:38:59,349 --> 00:38:56,480
loops

1081
00:39:01,670 --> 00:38:59,359
on the edges of the sun what that is is

1082
00:39:03,589 --> 00:39:01,680
a number of charged particles

1083
00:39:06,069 --> 00:39:03,599
they are giving off light and so we see

1084
00:39:07,910 --> 00:39:06,079
that light in the ultraviolet

1085
00:39:09,349 --> 00:39:07,920
but those particles are trapped to move

1086
00:39:10,870 --> 00:39:09,359
along magnetic field lines so what

1087
00:39:12,829 --> 00:39:10,880
that's really giving us information

1088
00:39:15,030 --> 00:39:12,839
about is the magnetic fields

1089
00:39:17,910 --> 00:39:15,040
themselves and so what you're going to

1090
00:39:19,589 --> 00:39:17,920
see in just a second is the telltale

1091
00:39:21,109 --> 00:39:19,599
signs of reconnection right in the

1092
00:39:22,950 --> 00:39:21,119
middle you'll see

1093
00:39:24,630 --> 00:39:22,960
material moving towards the center and

1094
00:39:25,910 --> 00:39:24,640
then you'll see it gets shot up the top

1095
00:39:27,190 --> 00:39:25,920
and the bottom just like if we were

1096
00:39:29,589 --> 00:39:27,200
bringing these magnets together and the

1097
00:39:33,589 --> 00:39:29,599
magnetic fields go to the top and bottom

1098
00:39:38,150 --> 00:39:35,510
so you can see the arrows are pointing

1099
00:39:40,230 --> 00:39:38,160
to where the material is coming together

1100
00:39:43,109 --> 00:39:40,240
and then you can see it getting shot out

1101
00:39:44,950 --> 00:39:43,119
the top and the bottom

1102
00:39:47,270 --> 00:39:44,960
so that shows very directly that

1103
00:39:49,589 --> 00:39:47,280
magnetic reconnection is happening in in

1104
00:39:51,190 --> 00:39:49,599
the sun and what's interesting here is

1105
00:39:53,750 --> 00:39:51,200
you can use another satellite mission

1106
00:39:56,710 --> 00:39:53,760
called the resi satellite

1107
00:39:58,470 --> 00:39:56,720
which measures x-rays so even hotter

1108
00:40:00,150 --> 00:39:58,480
material so

1109
00:40:02,550 --> 00:40:00,160
you see the orange blobs here let me

1110
00:40:04,390 --> 00:40:02,560
tell you what that means

1111
00:40:07,349 --> 00:40:04,400
what we were looking at initially was

1112
00:40:08,550 --> 00:40:07,359
about 18 million degrees and the rusty

1113
00:40:10,230 --> 00:40:08,560
satellite

1114
00:40:12,790 --> 00:40:10,240
looks at x-rays so it's much higher

1115
00:40:15,270 --> 00:40:12,800
energies it's about uh 200 million

1116
00:40:18,069 --> 00:40:15,280
degrees so what rescue tells us is where

1117
00:40:19,750 --> 00:40:18,079
the the most energetic particles are

1118
00:40:22,230 --> 00:40:19,760
and what we saw when those with those

1119
00:40:24,150 --> 00:40:22,240
blobs is that those blobs were telling

1120
00:40:26,230 --> 00:40:24,160
us that right near where reconnection

1121
00:40:28,630 --> 00:40:26,240
happens that's where the most energetic

1122
00:40:30,630 --> 00:40:28,640
particles are and so that tells us that

1123
00:40:32,390 --> 00:40:30,640
reconnection in the sun

1124
00:40:35,270 --> 00:40:32,400
in the atmosphere of the sun is

1125
00:40:37,109 --> 00:40:35,280
producing those high energetic highly

1126
00:40:39,510 --> 00:40:37,119
energetic particles

1127
00:40:41,109 --> 00:40:39,520
and so with mms you know we can't

1128
00:40:42,630 --> 00:40:41,119
directly measure what's going on in the

1129
00:40:45,349 --> 00:40:42,640
sun we can't stick a probe right there

1130
00:40:47,510 --> 00:40:45,359
but we can stick a probe in the earth's

1131
00:40:49,829 --> 00:40:47,520
magnetosphere and we can measure how

1132
00:40:52,710 --> 00:40:49,839
particles are accelerated by

1133
00:40:54,550 --> 00:40:52,720
reconnection in the magnetosphere so

1134
00:40:56,790 --> 00:40:54,560
by learning that we'll be able to

1135
00:40:59,190 --> 00:40:56,800
understand what happens in the sun

1136
00:41:02,150 --> 00:40:59,200
during solar flares

1137
00:41:04,230 --> 00:41:02,160
so just to give you a feel for

1138
00:41:07,829 --> 00:41:04,240
how much energy is released we saw in

1139
00:41:09,510 --> 00:41:07,839
roy's demo a nice spark

1140
00:41:11,349 --> 00:41:09,520
cosmically speaking that wasn't a huge

1141
00:41:13,430 --> 00:41:11,359
amount of energy

1142
00:41:15,430 --> 00:41:13,440
when we were talking about solar flares

1143
00:41:17,190 --> 00:41:15,440
the largest solar flares give off

1144
00:41:18,550 --> 00:41:17,200
absolutely huge amounts of energy and

1145
00:41:20,230 --> 00:41:18,560
that's all because of the reconnection

1146
00:41:22,470 --> 00:41:20,240
process

1147
00:41:24,870 --> 00:41:22,480
so some of the largest solar flares give

1148
00:41:27,670 --> 00:41:24,880
off the same amount of energy basically

1149
00:41:29,670 --> 00:41:27,680
it would take about 40 billion atomic

1150
00:41:31,829 --> 00:41:29,680
explosions to give you the same amount

1151
00:41:33,510 --> 00:41:31,839
of energy that is given off in a very

1152
00:41:35,190 --> 00:41:33,520
large solar flare

1153
00:41:37,190 --> 00:41:35,200
and solar flares happen over the scale

1154
00:41:40,470 --> 00:41:37,200
of about 20 minutes

1155
00:41:43,670 --> 00:41:40,480
so just insane amount of energy the most

1156
00:41:45,430 --> 00:41:43,680
energetic events in the solar system and

1157
00:41:47,349 --> 00:41:45,440
so that's why

1158
00:41:48,870 --> 00:41:47,359
you know learning about reconnection in

1159
00:41:50,870 --> 00:41:48,880
the magnetosphere is going to help us

1160
00:41:52,230 --> 00:41:50,880
understand reconnection in these other

1161
00:41:53,750 --> 00:41:52,240
places

1162
00:41:57,589 --> 00:41:53,760
so in summary

1163
00:41:59,190 --> 00:41:57,599
mms is just fantastically exciting for

1164
00:42:01,190 --> 00:41:59,200
scientists studying this because we're

1165
00:42:02,630 --> 00:42:01,200
finally going to get to see

1166
00:42:05,190 --> 00:42:02,640
what happens right where the magnetic

1167
00:42:07,430 --> 00:42:05,200
fields break we're going to be able to

1168
00:42:09,670 --> 00:42:07,440
measure how the charged particles gain

1169
00:42:11,670 --> 00:42:09,680
energy and it's really going to give us

1170
00:42:14,150 --> 00:42:11,680
a lot of perspective on how reconnection

1171
00:42:15,829 --> 00:42:14,160
happens all over the universe

1172
00:42:17,750 --> 00:42:15,839
so with that i'll pass it back to george

1173
00:42:20,550 --> 00:42:17,760
all right thank you paul

1174
00:42:22,390 --> 00:42:20,560
we're ready now to take questions

1175
00:42:24,390 --> 00:42:22,400
and uh when you get the microphone if

1176
00:42:28,069 --> 00:42:24,400
you would give us your name and also

1177
00:42:31,270 --> 00:42:28,079
your affiliation if you have one

1178
00:42:33,109 --> 00:42:31,280
questions out here in the front

1179
00:42:35,030 --> 00:42:33,119
hi ken kramer for american space and

1180
00:42:36,550 --> 00:42:35,040
universe today can can you talk about

1181
00:42:39,270 --> 00:42:36,560
these hot spots how will you be

1182
00:42:43,030 --> 00:42:39,280
maneuvering these spacecraft to search

1183
00:42:45,589 --> 00:42:43,040
for the hot spots and collect the data

1184
00:42:47,589 --> 00:42:45,599
uh well i'll take that question the uh

1185
00:42:49,349 --> 00:42:47,599
the as jim mentioned we maneuver them

1186
00:42:51,030 --> 00:42:49,359
into a pyramid shape to get a

1187
00:42:53,349 --> 00:42:51,040
three-dimensional view

1188
00:42:55,589 --> 00:42:53,359
and then we've constructed the mission

1189
00:42:57,670 --> 00:42:55,599
profile as i said in these two phases to

1190
00:42:59,349 --> 00:42:57,680
go to where we know

1191
00:43:01,910 --> 00:42:59,359
from previous missions it must be

1192
00:43:04,390 --> 00:43:01,920
occurring and then as craig said these

1193
00:43:06,710 --> 00:43:04,400
these hot spots move back and forth and

1194
00:43:09,030 --> 00:43:06,720
basically we sit there and wait until

1195
00:43:10,950 --> 00:43:09,040
they come by us but we know from

1196
00:43:12,630 --> 00:43:10,960
previous missions that

1197
00:43:14,950 --> 00:43:12,640
the probability of us encountering them

1198
00:43:17,190 --> 00:43:14,960
is very very high we expect to encounter

1199
00:43:19,349 --> 00:43:17,200
a few hundred of these mission uh

1200
00:43:21,910 --> 00:43:19,359
hotspots that we know we can isolate

1201
00:43:23,910 --> 00:43:21,920
what's really going on and that's uh

1202
00:43:25,589 --> 00:43:23,920
that's what we'll use the information

1203
00:43:26,470 --> 00:43:25,599
that's captured in a very small amount

1204
00:43:28,390 --> 00:43:26,480
of time

1205
00:43:29,910 --> 00:43:28,400
i don't know if jim mentioned that the

1206
00:43:31,990 --> 00:43:29,920
information from all these instruments

1207
00:43:34,309 --> 00:43:32,000
is so large that we can't actually get

1208
00:43:36,630 --> 00:43:34,319
it all to the ground we can only end up

1209
00:43:38,069 --> 00:43:36,640
getting about two percent of the real

1210
00:43:39,750 --> 00:43:38,079
information down to the ground because

1211
00:43:42,630 --> 00:43:39,760
there's so many instruments and so much

1212
00:43:45,750 --> 00:43:42,640
data occurring in that very small time

1213
00:43:47,670 --> 00:43:45,760
it's a sub second that we have to get

1214
00:43:49,270 --> 00:43:47,680
and so what we do is we have a process

1215
00:43:51,510 --> 00:43:49,280
to look at

1216
00:43:53,109 --> 00:43:51,520
indicators on the ground and say this is

1217
00:43:54,230 --> 00:43:53,119
the data we want

1218
00:43:55,750 --> 00:43:54,240
then we'll have an argument about

1219
00:43:57,349 --> 00:43:55,760
whether that data is

1220
00:43:59,190 --> 00:43:57,359
what we really want and we'll send some

1221
00:44:01,510 --> 00:43:59,200
of it down and we will keep doing that

1222
00:44:04,790 --> 00:44:01,520
until we find what we really need to

1223
00:44:08,230 --> 00:44:04,800
isolate the physics of reconnection

1224
00:44:10,790 --> 00:44:08,240
if i if i could add

1225
00:44:12,470 --> 00:44:10,800
what roy just described we do have a

1226
00:44:14,150 --> 00:44:12,480
process where we

1227
00:44:16,470 --> 00:44:14,160
essentially when we're in the region of

1228
00:44:19,109 --> 00:44:16,480
interest where we may encounter

1229
00:44:21,750 --> 00:44:19,119
reconnection we send down

1230
00:44:23,510 --> 00:44:21,760
a low resolution data set we call it the

1231
00:44:26,630 --> 00:44:23,520
fast survey data

1232
00:44:28,390 --> 00:44:26,640
and on a literally a daily basis

1233
00:44:31,910 --> 00:44:28,400
scientists will review the low

1234
00:44:33,270 --> 00:44:31,920
resolution and pick two minutes here 30

1235
00:44:37,270 --> 00:44:33,280
seconds there

1236
00:44:39,750 --> 00:44:37,280
we get about 15 minutes a day that we

1237
00:44:42,150 --> 00:44:39,760
can budget like that and so there's

1238
00:44:44,470 --> 00:44:42,160
scientists inspecting the low resolution

1239
00:44:45,589 --> 00:44:44,480
data while the higher resolution data is

1240
00:44:48,150 --> 00:44:45,599
stored

1241
00:44:50,390 --> 00:44:48,160
uh in memory on the spacecraft we'll

1242
00:44:52,069 --> 00:44:50,400
select these little intervals based on

1243
00:44:52,950 --> 00:44:52,079
inspection of the low resolution flight

1244
00:44:57,670 --> 00:44:52,960
data

1245
00:44:59,990 --> 00:44:57,680
from which we hope to glean the uh

1246
00:45:01,589 --> 00:45:00,000
details and understanding of the process

1247
00:45:02,630 --> 00:45:01,599
i'd like to add you ask an excellent

1248
00:45:05,270 --> 00:45:02,640
question you're going to see it takes

1249
00:45:07,030 --> 00:45:05,280
three of us to answer it

1250
00:45:09,829 --> 00:45:07,040
we can't drive these spacecraft through

1251
00:45:11,670 --> 00:45:09,839
that region of interest you have to

1252
00:45:14,069 --> 00:45:11,680
establish a pyramid on an orbit to orbit

1253
00:45:15,430 --> 00:45:14,079
basis so we get what we think is good we

1254
00:45:17,270 --> 00:45:15,440
go through now

1255
00:45:19,109 --> 00:45:17,280
roy and craig mentioned what we call a

1256
00:45:20,550 --> 00:45:19,119
scientist in the loop where scientists

1257
00:45:22,390 --> 00:45:20,560
on the ground look at low resolution

1258
00:45:23,990 --> 00:45:22,400
data and say here's a good boundary we

1259
00:45:25,670 --> 00:45:24,000
think this is good but what are they

1260
00:45:27,990 --> 00:45:25,680
comparing that to we also have a system

1261
00:45:30,069 --> 00:45:28,000
on board the spacecraft that can look

1262
00:45:31,349 --> 00:45:30,079
not at the low resolution data but can

1263
00:45:33,430 --> 00:45:31,359
look at the burst mode the highest

1264
00:45:35,510 --> 00:45:33,440
resolution data that we can take

1265
00:45:37,430 --> 00:45:35,520
that system on board with software is

1266
00:45:39,109 --> 00:45:37,440
selecting regions so what these people

1267
00:45:41,190 --> 00:45:39,119
on the ground is doing is really

1268
00:45:42,710 --> 00:45:41,200
deciding do we need to trump what the

1269
00:45:45,670 --> 00:45:42,720
onboard system

1270
00:45:48,150 --> 00:45:45,680
has decided to send down to us

1271
00:45:49,109 --> 00:45:48,160
and for this we needed a very large

1272
00:45:51,750 --> 00:45:49,119
memory

1273
00:45:54,630 --> 00:45:51,760
radiation hards 100 giga i mean about

1274
00:45:55,670 --> 00:45:54,640
100 gigabytes 96 gigabyte uh

1275
00:45:57,750 --> 00:45:55,680
memory

1276
00:46:00,150 --> 00:45:57,760
and we constructed this out of you're

1277
00:46:01,510 --> 00:46:00,160
familiar with these flash drives in your

1278
00:46:03,109 --> 00:46:01,520
laptop

1279
00:46:05,430 --> 00:46:03,119
because it was too expensive to get to

1280
00:46:07,430 --> 00:46:05,440
buy one at those specs and so we had a

1281
00:46:09,910 --> 00:46:07,440
clever engineer that said you know some

1282
00:46:11,910 --> 00:46:09,920
of these flash drives might be radiation

1283
00:46:13,589 --> 00:46:11,920
hard we don't know they bought a bunch

1284
00:46:14,790 --> 00:46:13,599
of them up took them to an accelerator

1285
00:46:17,430 --> 00:46:14,800
in france

1286
00:46:19,430 --> 00:46:17,440
and found out some were really hard

1287
00:46:22,069 --> 00:46:19,440
yeah some lots and so we bought up all

1288
00:46:23,670 --> 00:46:22,079
of that stuff and that's what's on there

1289
00:46:25,430 --> 00:46:23,680
and we're also turning into a line of

1290
00:46:28,950 --> 00:46:25,440
business we're selling those

1291
00:46:30,790 --> 00:46:28,960
memories to other folks now

1292
00:46:34,870 --> 00:46:30,800
yep right back here

1293
00:46:36,870 --> 00:46:34,880
historical imagery mark gotch canada

1294
00:46:38,710 --> 00:46:36,880
an amazing presentation you've given

1295
00:46:41,589 --> 00:46:38,720
this afternoon

1296
00:46:43,990 --> 00:46:41,599
to look at the amazing amounts of

1297
00:46:46,470 --> 00:46:44,000
hardware that are going to be installed

1298
00:46:49,030 --> 00:46:46,480
in these satellites and working sending

1299
00:46:51,109 --> 00:46:49,040
this information back is just incredible

1300
00:46:53,829 --> 00:46:51,119
but to ask you a question when these

1301
00:46:57,750 --> 00:46:53,839
satellites will be orbiting earth

1302
00:46:59,109 --> 00:46:57,760
and recording these magnetospheres

1303
00:47:03,030 --> 00:46:59,119
in reverse

1304
00:47:05,430 --> 00:47:03,040
from earth how far out into space

1305
00:47:08,950 --> 00:47:05,440
will these magnetospheres

1306
00:47:10,630 --> 00:47:08,960
being monitored in terms of

1307
00:47:11,670 --> 00:47:10,640
capturing the information with this

1308
00:47:13,670 --> 00:47:11,680
hardware

1309
00:47:14,950 --> 00:47:13,680
how far out into space

1310
00:47:16,630 --> 00:47:14,960
from earth

1311
00:47:18,710 --> 00:47:16,640
will it be

1312
00:47:19,910 --> 00:47:18,720
there what i showed in that animation of

1313
00:47:22,950 --> 00:47:19,920
the orbits

1314
00:47:25,190 --> 00:47:22,960
the largest distance we go to is 25

1315
00:47:27,829 --> 00:47:25,200
earth radii each earth radio has about 6

1316
00:47:29,910 --> 00:47:27,839
000 kilometers 6300

1317
00:47:31,829 --> 00:47:29,920
so uh you know it's like uh halfway to

1318
00:47:33,829 --> 00:47:31,839
the moon that's as far out as we go

1319
00:47:36,150 --> 00:47:33,839
beyond that uh reconnection happens only

1320
00:47:38,150 --> 00:47:36,160
rarely it still happens but we know from

1321
00:47:40,150 --> 00:47:38,160
previous missions statistically where it

1322
00:47:42,550 --> 00:47:40,160
most likely happens on the night side is

1323
00:47:47,349 --> 00:47:42,560
halfway to the moon and on the day size

1324
00:47:52,309 --> 00:47:49,829
right here ed ruskoski

1325
00:47:54,309 --> 00:47:52,319
social media how long do you plan to

1326
00:47:57,510 --> 00:47:54,319
take measurements with your vehicles and

1327
00:47:59,589 --> 00:47:57,520
also what is the planned mission life

1328
00:48:01,349 --> 00:47:59,599
it's a two-year mission

1329
00:48:02,950 --> 00:48:01,359
and we won't be out of fuel though we'll

1330
00:48:04,230 --> 00:48:02,960
still have fuel left

1331
00:48:05,430 --> 00:48:04,240
and

1332
00:48:07,670 --> 00:48:05,440
so if we

1333
00:48:09,510 --> 00:48:07,680
spacecraft healthy we would probably

1334
00:48:11,270 --> 00:48:09,520
propose to keep running it for a while

1335
00:48:13,349 --> 00:48:11,280
but as of now

1336
00:48:16,550 --> 00:48:13,359
two-year mission an additional year of

1337
00:48:17,670 --> 00:48:16,560
analysis of the data

1338
00:48:19,109 --> 00:48:17,680
right here

1339
00:48:20,710 --> 00:48:19,119
hi i'm yolanda kearney i'm the public

1340
00:48:22,950 --> 00:48:20,720
affairs officer at u.s embassy

1341
00:48:24,230 --> 00:48:22,960
bridgetown where i'm lucky i have an

1342
00:48:26,710 --> 00:48:24,240
ambassador who's a former physics

1343
00:48:28,549 --> 00:48:26,720
professor so um thank you for making it

1344
00:48:29,990 --> 00:48:28,559
all look easy so around the world at our

1345
00:48:31,910 --> 00:48:30,000
embassies we still have people who draw

1346
00:48:34,150 --> 00:48:31,920
a tremendous amount of

1347
00:48:36,150 --> 00:48:34,160
inspiration from nasa we were lucky

1348
00:48:37,829 --> 00:48:36,160
enough to host neil degrasse tyson for a

1349
00:48:39,750 --> 00:48:37,839
lecture in

1350
00:48:41,109 --> 00:48:39,760
november a little six-year-old came up

1351
00:48:43,510 --> 00:48:41,119
to him and asked him what if there were

1352
00:48:45,109 --> 00:48:43,520
no nasa so he gave a beautiful response

1353
00:48:47,109 --> 00:48:45,119
but i'd like to know what your message

1354
00:48:48,390 --> 00:48:47,119
is for us around the world as we talk

1355
00:48:50,549 --> 00:48:48,400
about the about

1356
00:48:53,589 --> 00:48:50,559
the influence of nasa still what if

1357
00:48:56,549 --> 00:48:53,599
there were no nasa

1358
00:48:57,589 --> 00:48:56,559
uh that's for jim or or roy or whoever

1359
00:49:00,150 --> 00:48:57,599
you asked me

1360
00:49:02,710 --> 00:49:00,160
that's a good question as well

1361
00:49:08,069 --> 00:49:02,720
well you know i don't i still remember

1362
00:49:12,710 --> 00:49:10,870
i've been at this game a long time

1363
00:49:15,750 --> 00:49:12,720
and uh so you know and then there was a

1364
00:49:17,750 --> 00:49:15,760
naca it was mostly aeronautics

1365
00:49:19,270 --> 00:49:17,760
thing and so what got people interested

1366
00:49:20,309 --> 00:49:19,280
was the space race of course the

1367
00:49:21,990 --> 00:49:20,319
russians put

1368
00:49:23,990 --> 00:49:22,000
a sputnik up and well we had to get a

1369
00:49:25,990 --> 00:49:24,000
satellite up and then they put a man in

1370
00:49:27,589 --> 00:49:26,000
our well we had to do that it was mostly

1371
00:49:29,030 --> 00:49:27,599
like that but as

1372
00:49:31,109 --> 00:49:29,040
time went by

1373
00:49:32,150 --> 00:49:31,119
there was a very excellent science

1374
00:49:34,230 --> 00:49:32,160
program

1375
00:49:36,950 --> 00:49:34,240
developed in nasa it's like a

1376
00:49:38,390 --> 00:49:36,960
national science foundation embedded

1377
00:49:40,230 --> 00:49:38,400
in nasa

1378
00:49:43,270 --> 00:49:40,240
and everything is done it's a

1379
00:49:44,870 --> 00:49:43,280
meritocracy everything is competed

1380
00:49:46,390 --> 00:49:44,880
every mission we do like this one was

1381
00:49:47,910 --> 00:49:46,400
heavy competition

1382
00:49:49,990 --> 00:49:47,920
to pick the people who do it and so

1383
00:49:52,549 --> 00:49:50,000
nothing is just given to anybody so

1384
00:49:54,950 --> 00:49:52,559
people are very interested in the space

1385
00:49:56,390 --> 00:49:54,960
science and they're willing to

1386
00:49:57,750 --> 00:49:56,400
to you know go to school learn more

1387
00:49:59,829 --> 00:49:57,760
about it and compete with other people

1388
00:50:02,470 --> 00:49:59,839
to get these to do these missions

1389
00:50:03,430 --> 00:50:02,480
if nasa cease to exist i think what we

1390
00:50:04,790 --> 00:50:03,440
know

1391
00:50:09,349 --> 00:50:04,800
about the

1392
00:50:12,069 --> 00:50:09,359
it would just cease we wouldn't have we

1393
00:50:13,349 --> 00:50:12,079
wouldn't know anymore

1394
00:50:15,030 --> 00:50:13,359
it i mean it used to be close to the

1395
00:50:16,390 --> 00:50:15,040
earth there's a you know the navy and

1396
00:50:18,390 --> 00:50:16,400
the air force fly some satellites but

1397
00:50:20,309 --> 00:50:18,400
all that kind of stuff we mostly know

1398
00:50:21,510 --> 00:50:20,319
about but farther out we wouldn't we'd

1399
00:50:23,750 --> 00:50:21,520
be looking

1400
00:50:25,910 --> 00:50:23,760
to the europeans the japanese the

1401
00:50:28,230 --> 00:50:25,920
indians the chinese would be reading

1402
00:50:30,630 --> 00:50:28,240
their journals instead of ours sorry

1403
00:50:35,750 --> 00:50:30,640
no problem i think i'll add and um sorry

1404
00:50:40,549 --> 00:50:36,790
um

1405
00:50:42,870 --> 00:50:40,559
i i think that that nasa provides

1406
00:50:45,109 --> 00:50:42,880
a fundamental

1407
00:50:46,790 --> 00:50:45,119
uh impetus for for science in this in

1408
00:50:48,069 --> 00:50:46,800
this country i think that it's a

1409
00:50:50,549 --> 00:50:48,079
partnership

1410
00:50:53,109 --> 00:50:50,559
uh you see a representative here i work

1411
00:50:55,589 --> 00:50:53,119
for nasa jim for a company

1412
00:50:59,430 --> 00:50:55,599
roy for university so you see the the

1413
00:51:01,270 --> 00:50:59,440
difference i think nasa provides a a a a

1414
00:51:03,349 --> 00:51:01,280
force that that

1415
00:51:06,790 --> 00:51:03,359
helps unify and and

1416
00:51:08,630 --> 00:51:06,800
provide uh inspiration to to the nation

1417
00:51:10,549 --> 00:51:08,640
to do this great science so i think that

1418
00:51:12,390 --> 00:51:10,559
at the time that you know what what

1419
00:51:14,870 --> 00:51:12,400
happened at nasa i think you'd lose

1420
00:51:16,549 --> 00:51:14,880
something you you rely

1421
00:51:17,750 --> 00:51:16,559
the individuals are spread throughout

1422
00:51:19,829 --> 00:51:17,760
they're at the they're at the

1423
00:51:22,790 --> 00:51:19,839
universities they're at the uh corporate

1424
00:51:24,150 --> 00:51:22,800
world but i think that the nasa's role

1425
00:51:27,750 --> 00:51:24,160
is really to

1426
00:51:29,270 --> 00:51:27,760
to to lead help bleed uh people into a

1427
00:51:32,309 --> 00:51:29,280
common direction that will really

1428
00:51:34,870 --> 00:51:32,319
benefit the whole nation in in

1429
00:51:37,349 --> 00:51:34,880
in unsuspecting ways we really don't

1430
00:51:38,950 --> 00:51:37,359
know as you heard here today we're

1431
00:51:40,870 --> 00:51:38,960
really interested in in the fundamental

1432
00:51:43,190 --> 00:51:40,880
physics of magnetic reconnection and

1433
00:51:45,829 --> 00:51:43,200
then how it relates to activity in space

1434
00:51:48,150 --> 00:51:45,839
but yet there may be an offshoot of

1435
00:51:49,510 --> 00:51:48,160
understanding about uh fusion reactors

1436
00:51:51,270 --> 00:51:49,520
here on the ground

1437
00:51:54,069 --> 00:51:51,280
throughout nasa's history there has

1438
00:51:56,710 --> 00:51:54,079
always been that that

1439
00:51:59,109 --> 00:51:56,720
dual nature of pure science and yet uh

1440
00:52:01,510 --> 00:51:59,119
practical applications so i think that's

1441
00:52:02,950 --> 00:52:01,520
i would say the role

1442
00:52:04,390 --> 00:52:02,960
if i could respond

1443
00:52:06,069 --> 00:52:04,400
because i teach undergraduates on a

1444
00:52:08,390 --> 00:52:06,079
regular basis and

1445
00:52:10,390 --> 00:52:08,400
and graduate students too occasionally

1446
00:52:11,990 --> 00:52:10,400
but i can just say very simply nasa

1447
00:52:14,230 --> 00:52:12,000
provides really that spark for

1448
00:52:17,270 --> 00:52:14,240
imagination which is really important

1449
00:52:21,670 --> 00:52:19,430
any further questions

1450
00:52:23,510 --> 00:52:21,680
yes certainly um

1451
00:52:26,790 --> 00:52:23,520
just an hour or two ago

1452
00:52:29,990 --> 00:52:26,800
i was lucky enough to visit the um

1453
00:52:31,670 --> 00:52:30,000
the apollo saturn 5 center here on

1454
00:52:34,470 --> 00:52:31,680
kennedy space center

1455
00:52:35,270 --> 00:52:34,480
and uh i took the occasion to to see

1456
00:52:37,270 --> 00:52:35,280
this

1457
00:52:39,510 --> 00:52:37,280
14-minute video

1458
00:52:40,870 --> 00:52:39,520
show that they have about the moon

1459
00:52:42,230 --> 00:52:40,880
landings

1460
00:52:44,309 --> 00:52:42,240
and um

1461
00:52:45,910 --> 00:52:44,319
and through that video and at the end of

1462
00:52:47,910 --> 00:52:45,920
it there were they there was some

1463
00:52:49,109 --> 00:52:47,920
interviews with astronauts

1464
00:52:51,349 --> 00:52:49,119
and

1465
00:52:56,309 --> 00:52:51,359
alan shepard

1466
00:52:57,990 --> 00:52:56,319
related his experience

1467
00:53:01,190 --> 00:52:58,000
standing on the moon

1468
00:53:02,470 --> 00:53:01,200
looking back at the earth and

1469
00:53:03,990 --> 00:53:02,480
and uh

1470
00:53:06,390 --> 00:53:04,000
contemplating

1471
00:53:09,109 --> 00:53:06,400
how unfortunate it is

1472
00:53:10,549 --> 00:53:09,119
that back there on that small lifeboat

1473
00:53:12,309 --> 00:53:10,559
in space

1474
00:53:13,589 --> 00:53:12,319
people are busy fighting each other in

1475
00:53:14,549 --> 00:53:13,599
conflict

1476
00:53:17,270 --> 00:53:14,559
and

1477
00:53:18,710 --> 00:53:17,280
he said he actually shed tears

1478
00:53:20,710 --> 00:53:18,720
and i think that

1479
00:53:22,230 --> 00:53:20,720
one of the important functions

1480
00:53:24,470 --> 00:53:22,240
of nasa

1481
00:53:26,230 --> 00:53:24,480
really is to

1482
00:53:27,750 --> 00:53:26,240
give ourselves an opportunity to see

1483
00:53:29,750 --> 00:53:27,760
ourselves in

1484
00:53:33,030 --> 00:53:29,760
a broader context

1485
00:53:34,710 --> 00:53:33,040
and understand that

1486
00:53:37,030 --> 00:53:34,720
you know this is sort of a lifeboat

1487
00:53:38,069 --> 00:53:37,040
earth and

1488
00:53:41,109 --> 00:53:38,079
to

1489
00:53:42,630 --> 00:53:41,119
perhaps imagine a little bit better

1490
00:53:44,950 --> 00:53:42,640
the futility

1491
00:53:46,150 --> 00:53:44,960
of the conflict that we engage in all

1492
00:53:48,069 --> 00:53:46,160
too often

1493
00:53:50,470 --> 00:53:48,079
and so i think that

1494
00:53:53,510 --> 00:53:50,480
that that's something that nasa

1495
00:53:57,430 --> 00:53:55,270
many people's consciousness and will

1496
00:53:59,270 --> 00:53:57,440
continue to do so in the future and i

1497
00:54:02,309 --> 00:53:59,280
think that's a really important

1498
00:54:04,069 --> 00:54:02,319
role for nasa

1499
00:54:05,990 --> 00:54:04,079
okay right here

1500
00:54:08,150 --> 00:54:06,000
uh yes chris haber uh haber digital

1501
00:54:11,190 --> 00:54:08,160
media i was hoping if you guys could go

1502
00:54:13,030 --> 00:54:11,200
through uh basically the timeline of the

1503
00:54:14,950 --> 00:54:13,040
science from back in the 40s when the

1504
00:54:16,870 --> 00:54:14,960
phenomenon was discovered

1505
00:54:19,270 --> 00:54:16,880
through some of the previous missions

1506
00:54:21,990 --> 00:54:19,280
that have worked on it up to the decadal

1507
00:54:22,950 --> 00:54:22,000
survey that's uh that brought us to here

1508
00:54:25,829 --> 00:54:22,960
and then

1509
00:54:27,510 --> 00:54:25,839
milestones throughout the mission

1510
00:54:30,230 --> 00:54:27,520
i think paul is a good question sure

1511
00:54:31,990 --> 00:54:30,240
i'll take that one um so yeah so uh

1512
00:54:33,990 --> 00:54:32,000
reconnection was discovered in the 40s

1513
00:54:35,829 --> 00:54:34,000
is from people studying solar flares

1514
00:54:37,349 --> 00:54:35,839
they realize that

1515
00:54:39,270 --> 00:54:37,359
where the flares are coming from is

1516
00:54:40,870 --> 00:54:39,280
where the magnetic fields were pointing

1517
00:54:43,430 --> 00:54:40,880
in opposite directions and that's what

1518
00:54:45,190 --> 00:54:43,440
got got people started thinking about

1519
00:54:46,870 --> 00:54:45,200
that process

1520
00:54:48,950 --> 00:54:46,880
almost immediately they realized that

1521
00:54:51,670 --> 00:54:48,960
the same process would happen at the

1522
00:54:54,710 --> 00:54:51,680
earth's magnetosphere so in the early

1523
00:54:58,069 --> 00:54:54,720
sorry the the late 40s and early 50s

1524
00:54:59,990 --> 00:54:58,079
and uh so basically by the mid 60s there

1525
00:55:01,829 --> 00:55:00,000
were a lot of the theory was sort of

1526
00:55:03,510 --> 00:55:01,839
worked out and they kind of thought they

1527
00:55:04,950 --> 00:55:03,520
understood it

1528
00:55:07,589 --> 00:55:04,960
and then it

1529
00:55:10,630 --> 00:55:07,599
but not everyone believed it yet

1530
00:55:13,430 --> 00:55:10,640
and so it took into the late 70s when

1531
00:55:16,069 --> 00:55:13,440
the icy satellites were up and they

1532
00:55:18,069 --> 00:55:16,079
measured not they they weren't measuring

1533
00:55:19,990 --> 00:55:18,079
the smallest scales of reconnection but

1534
00:55:21,430 --> 00:55:20,000
they measured after effects of

1535
00:55:22,549 --> 00:55:21,440
reconnection and that's when people

1536
00:55:25,750 --> 00:55:22,559
really started believing that

1537
00:55:27,430 --> 00:55:25,760
reconnection was happening

1538
00:55:29,589 --> 00:55:27,440
so since then it's really sort of

1539
00:55:31,589 --> 00:55:29,599
exploded as a field and

1540
00:55:33,430 --> 00:55:31,599
there are a number of satellites jeff

1541
00:55:37,990 --> 00:55:33,440
showed the

1542
00:55:43,109 --> 00:55:40,470
system observatory thank you

1543
00:55:44,549 --> 00:55:43,119
and so a lot of those satellites as

1544
00:55:46,069 --> 00:55:44,559
they're going around

1545
00:55:49,109 --> 00:55:46,079
the magnetosphere they detect

1546
00:55:51,430 --> 00:55:49,119
reconnection so um you know so we can

1547
00:55:54,870 --> 00:55:51,440
see like we've heard we can see a lot of

1548
00:55:57,190 --> 00:55:54,880
what's going on uh at the large scale

1549
00:55:59,030 --> 00:55:57,200
and as you get closer down to the

1550
00:56:00,789 --> 00:55:59,040
smaller scale but what's been missing

1551
00:56:03,589 --> 00:56:00,799
from that is the smallest scale so

1552
00:56:04,870 --> 00:56:03,599
that's how mms fits into that

1553
00:56:07,030 --> 00:56:04,880
okay we're going to take a couple of

1554
00:56:08,549 --> 00:56:07,040
questions from social media and then

1555
00:56:09,630 --> 00:56:08,559
we'll come back here

1556
00:56:11,190 --> 00:56:09,640
uh

1557
00:56:12,710 --> 00:56:11,200
calacofieldwithspace.com i have two

1558
00:56:15,430 --> 00:56:12,720
questions um first of all just curious

1559
00:56:17,510 --> 00:56:15,440
if there'll be any joint observations or

1560
00:56:20,230 --> 00:56:17,520
i don't know cross-referencing you know

1561
00:56:22,390 --> 00:56:20,240
if mms sees an event looking to see if

1562
00:56:24,630 --> 00:56:22,400
there's a geomagnetic storm associated

1563
00:56:26,309 --> 00:56:24,640
with it or auroras or anything like that

1564
00:56:28,150 --> 00:56:26,319
um you know if other satellites will be

1565
00:56:30,309 --> 00:56:28,160
able to see anything to do with these

1566
00:56:32,710 --> 00:56:30,319
events and secondly have you thought

1567
00:56:36,150 --> 00:56:32,720
about what would happen if mms got hit

1568
00:56:38,549 --> 00:56:36,160
with a coronal mass ejection

1569
00:56:40,069 --> 00:56:38,559
okay well i can answer unless jeff

1570
00:56:42,390 --> 00:56:40,079
would like to but

1571
00:56:44,470 --> 00:56:42,400
he has this heliophysics

1572
00:56:46,150 --> 00:56:44,480
system observatory so all the spacecraft

1573
00:56:48,150 --> 00:56:46,160
that are already up there and we'll join

1574
00:56:50,230 --> 00:56:48,160
that fleet when we get up there and so

1575
00:56:52,390 --> 00:56:50,240
all of these spacecraft can see these

1576
00:56:54,309 --> 00:56:52,400
effects and so it'd be a lot of work

1577
00:56:56,549 --> 00:56:54,319
done by researchers and

1578
00:56:58,630 --> 00:56:56,559
correlating data between among different

1579
00:57:00,069 --> 00:56:58,640
spacecraft you know that we have up

1580
00:57:03,030 --> 00:57:00,079
there

1581
00:57:06,069 --> 00:57:03,040
we have designed mms to withstand these

1582
00:57:08,230 --> 00:57:06,079
events coronal mass ejections that you

1583
00:57:10,230 --> 00:57:08,240
have primarily we do it by having a

1584
00:57:12,470 --> 00:57:10,240
uniform conducting surface

1585
00:57:14,470 --> 00:57:12,480
on the spacecraft we have a device on

1586
00:57:16,870 --> 00:57:14,480
there that emits ions to keep the

1587
00:57:19,270 --> 00:57:16,880
spacecraft potential from rising above

1588
00:57:21,030 --> 00:57:19,280
four volts uh positive

1589
00:57:23,510 --> 00:57:21,040
and so uh if it does i mean the

1590
00:57:25,430 --> 00:57:23,520
spacecraft could charge up to kilovolts

1591
00:57:27,510 --> 00:57:25,440
as long as it's uniform

1592
00:57:29,349 --> 00:57:27,520
what causes problems with spacecraft is

1593
00:57:30,630 --> 00:57:29,359
this side is charged one way and it

1594
00:57:32,150 --> 00:57:30,640
charges the other way and you get a

1595
00:57:33,109 --> 00:57:32,160
lightning bolt across that can be a

1596
00:57:35,190 --> 00:57:33,119
problem

1597
00:57:37,349 --> 00:57:35,200
but that's the way you avoid that is to

1598
00:57:38,630 --> 00:57:37,359
minimize or eliminate insulators on the

1599
00:57:41,270 --> 00:57:38,640
outside

1600
00:57:43,750 --> 00:57:41,280
and have a uniform conducting surface

1601
00:57:45,750 --> 00:57:43,760
maybe jeff can add and i'll just add we

1602
00:57:48,230 --> 00:57:45,760
um a number of our spacecraft that we

1603
00:57:51,270 --> 00:57:48,240
have currently flying have have utilized

1604
00:57:54,150 --> 00:57:51,280
these designs where we and and have had

1605
00:57:55,990 --> 00:57:54,160
cmes solar storms wash over them and we

1606
00:57:57,510 --> 00:57:56,000
do it on purposely so that they can

1607
00:57:59,270 --> 00:57:57,520
understand them we can we can actually

1608
00:58:01,430 --> 00:57:59,280
measure them we can see them from a

1609
00:58:03,030 --> 00:58:01,440
distance with remote sensing instruments

1610
00:58:04,230 --> 00:58:03,040
but we also have in-situ ones which

1611
00:58:06,390 --> 00:58:04,240
actually measure

1612
00:58:09,510 --> 00:58:06,400
the the plasma conditions the the

1613
00:58:11,589 --> 00:58:09,520
composition the magnetic field uh for

1614
00:58:13,510 --> 00:58:11,599
example our a spacecraft or soho

1615
00:58:15,190 --> 00:58:13,520
spacecraft these other spacecraft have

1616
00:58:17,750 --> 00:58:15,200
already existed so so we know how to

1617
00:58:20,230 --> 00:58:17,760
design so there won't be any damage and

1618
00:58:22,230 --> 00:58:20,240
as jim said uh indeed it's our fleet

1619
00:58:23,910 --> 00:58:22,240
working together it's that system we

1620
00:58:25,750 --> 00:58:23,920
have a series of buoys basically think

1621
00:58:27,510 --> 00:58:25,760
of buoys throughout

1622
00:58:29,430 --> 00:58:27,520
interplanetary space

1623
00:58:31,829 --> 00:58:29,440
all working together looking following

1624
00:58:33,670 --> 00:58:31,839
this entire series of events so it is

1625
00:58:35,190 --> 00:58:33,680
very key to have that it's an

1626
00:58:37,270 --> 00:58:35,200
understanding

1627
00:58:38,630 --> 00:58:37,280
okay questions on twitter i'm going to

1628
00:58:40,069 --> 00:58:38,640
combine two questions that came in

1629
00:58:42,309 --> 00:58:40,079
through twitter through hashtag mag

1630
00:58:44,950 --> 00:58:42,319
recon together one is when does the

1631
00:58:47,750 --> 00:58:44,960
first bit of science data come back into

1632
00:58:49,510 --> 00:58:47,760
y'all and the other question is mms is a

1633
00:58:51,190 --> 00:58:49,520
planned two-year mission with fuel to

1634
00:58:53,190 --> 00:58:51,200
spare what else would you want to

1635
00:58:54,789 --> 00:58:53,200
measure

1636
00:58:56,710 --> 00:58:54,799
let me answer the first one we're all

1637
00:58:58,150 --> 00:58:56,720
thrilled i'm going to see data on monday

1638
00:59:00,950 --> 00:58:58,160
these guys assure me i'm going to see

1639
00:59:05,670 --> 00:59:02,309
i don't think i'll see it until about

1640
00:59:09,910 --> 00:59:07,430
yeah and what else might we look for

1641
00:59:11,750 --> 00:59:09,920
let's say an extended mission is that i

1642
00:59:13,910 --> 00:59:11,760
think that's what was uh

1643
00:59:15,750 --> 00:59:13,920
was asked well this mission is designed

1644
00:59:18,470 --> 00:59:15,760
explicitly to look for one thing and

1645
00:59:19,990 --> 00:59:18,480
look for it in great detail and so any

1646
00:59:21,510 --> 00:59:20,000
other thing that we find will be there

1647
00:59:22,710 --> 00:59:21,520
will be surprises

1648
00:59:25,109 --> 00:59:22,720
we'll measure things that were

1649
00:59:27,670 --> 00:59:25,119
unanticipated and then we'll investigate

1650
00:59:29,750 --> 00:59:27,680
those in more detail

1651
00:59:30,710 --> 00:59:29,760
i'll just add that every mission we

1652
00:59:32,309 --> 00:59:30,720
launch

1653
00:59:34,549 --> 00:59:32,319
always comes up with something

1654
00:59:36,549 --> 00:59:34,559
unexpected that we just had not

1655
00:59:38,230 --> 00:59:36,559
participated we designed it to solve a

1656
00:59:39,990 --> 00:59:38,240
problem but

1657
00:59:41,510 --> 00:59:40,000
something new always comes our way

1658
00:59:43,109 --> 00:59:41,520
something new and exciting we love we

1659
00:59:45,190 --> 00:59:43,119
love new things we love where it points

1660
00:59:47,190 --> 00:59:45,200
out that we didn't understand this other

1661
00:59:49,349 --> 00:59:47,200
process or this related process i mean

1662
00:59:50,309 --> 00:59:49,359
that's how we make advances so we're

1663
00:59:52,390 --> 00:59:50,319
we're

1664
00:59:54,390 --> 00:59:52,400
happen

1665
00:59:56,549 --> 00:59:54,400
see what we don't know

1666
00:59:57,990 --> 00:59:56,559
okay another question on twitter and

1667
01:00:00,870 --> 00:59:58,000
another one that came in through hashtag

1668
01:00:02,789 --> 01:00:00,880
mag recon jim burch mentioned using gps

1669
01:00:05,829 --> 01:00:02,799
to help guide the spacecraft how exactly

1670
01:00:08,309 --> 01:00:05,839
does that work is it like my car

1671
01:00:10,710 --> 01:00:08,319
yes it is but you have to have a much

1672
01:00:12,470 --> 01:00:10,720
more accurate gps system we call it the

1673
01:00:14,950 --> 01:00:12,480
navigator there's some project people

1674
01:00:17,270 --> 01:00:14,960
here who will correct me if i'm wrong

1675
01:00:19,829 --> 01:00:17,280
but the gps satellites are well below

1676
01:00:22,309 --> 01:00:19,839
mms earth about four earth radii and

1677
01:00:24,230 --> 01:00:22,319
we're at 12 to 25 depending on the face

1678
01:00:26,789 --> 01:00:24,240
of our orbit but we can look down into

1679
01:00:28,069 --> 01:00:26,799
that constellation of gps spacecraft and

1680
01:00:30,870 --> 01:00:28,079
if we make the measurements of their

1681
01:00:33,270 --> 01:00:30,880
signals accurately enough we can measure

1682
01:00:35,910 --> 01:00:33,280
our spacecraft positions down to 100

1683
01:00:39,270 --> 01:00:35,920
meters so we have separations as small

1684
01:00:41,910 --> 01:00:39,280
as 10 kilometers we need accuracy of 100

1685
01:00:45,829 --> 01:00:41,920
meters and we can do that with that

1686
01:00:48,549 --> 01:00:47,430
okay you've got any more

1687
01:00:50,390 --> 01:00:48,559
all right then we'll take another

1688
01:00:52,630 --> 01:00:50,400
question right here brian roo with

1689
01:00:54,549 --> 01:00:52,640
social media what kind of computing

1690
01:00:56,230 --> 01:00:54,559
power is going to be used to parse this

1691
01:00:58,150 --> 01:00:56,240
data as it comes down from the four

1692
01:00:59,750 --> 01:00:58,160
spacecraft and where might that be

1693
01:01:01,030 --> 01:00:59,760
located

1694
01:01:03,589 --> 01:01:01,040
you mean on board

1695
01:01:05,430 --> 01:01:03,599
no on earth on earth on the earth on the

1696
01:01:07,430 --> 01:01:05,440
earth it's very advanced and i don't

1697
01:01:08,549 --> 01:01:07,440
know who here is best qualified to talk

1698
01:01:10,630 --> 01:01:08,559
about it

1699
01:01:12,950 --> 01:01:10,640
well we have a we have a

1700
01:01:15,109 --> 01:01:12,960
a data center uh each system has a data

1701
01:01:16,390 --> 01:01:15,119
center it's coordinated with nasa data

1702
01:01:19,270 --> 01:01:16,400
centers to

1703
01:01:22,470 --> 01:01:19,280
ingest the data and to reduce it to to

1704
01:01:25,190 --> 01:01:22,480
uh to a form that we can start talking

1705
01:01:28,390 --> 01:01:25,200
in a sensible scientific manner

1706
01:01:31,670 --> 01:01:28,400
about the data but we also have with

1707
01:01:32,870 --> 01:01:31,680
the the team a theory and modeling

1708
01:01:37,430 --> 01:01:32,880
component

1709
01:01:39,349 --> 01:01:37,440
very large simulations that jim showed

1710
01:01:41,349 --> 01:01:39,359
that do they we we constantly compare

1711
01:01:43,430 --> 01:01:41,359
our measurements to those simulations

1712
01:01:45,030 --> 01:01:43,440
and they're run all over uh actually the

1713
01:01:46,789 --> 01:01:45,040
world and some of the very largest

1714
01:01:49,430 --> 01:01:46,799
supercomputers because it takes a very

1715
01:01:50,870 --> 01:01:49,440
long time uh i mean a very lot of

1716
01:01:52,950 --> 01:01:50,880
computing power to run some of those

1717
01:01:54,710 --> 01:01:52,960
simulations as jim mentioned they're

1718
01:01:57,670 --> 01:01:54,720
really limited in their in their

1719
01:01:59,190 --> 01:01:57,680
duration simply because the plasma is so

1720
01:02:00,150 --> 01:01:59,200
complicated

1721
01:02:02,069 --> 01:02:00,160
that

1722
01:02:03,430 --> 01:02:02,079
the simulation can only take a piece of

1723
01:02:05,109 --> 01:02:03,440
it and we have to go look at the real

1724
01:02:06,789 --> 01:02:05,119
world and compare that to those

1725
01:02:09,030 --> 01:02:06,799
simulations but

1726
01:02:11,829 --> 01:02:09,040
as uh i think paul mentioned we we have

1727
01:02:13,750 --> 01:02:11,839
a meeting that's going on uh uh at this

1728
01:02:15,670 --> 01:02:13,760
present time this morning of uh people

1729
01:02:16,950 --> 01:02:15,680
all over the world who were uh talking

1730
01:02:18,390 --> 01:02:16,960
about their simulations and where

1731
01:02:19,750 --> 01:02:18,400
they're where they're run in various

1732
01:02:22,549 --> 01:02:19,760
different places and

1733
01:02:24,789 --> 01:02:22,559
anxious very anxious to compare it with

1734
01:02:25,750 --> 01:02:24,799
mother nature

1735
01:02:27,349 --> 01:02:25,760
all right

1736
01:02:29,910 --> 01:02:27,359
we'll take one last question right here

1737
01:02:32,150 --> 01:02:29,920
and then we'll wrap it up

1738
01:02:34,789 --> 01:02:32,160
uh david vanderpool social media are

1739
01:02:36,390 --> 01:02:34,799
there other missions um other programs

1740
01:02:38,549 --> 01:02:36,400
that will be leveraging the data that

1741
01:02:40,950 --> 01:02:38,559
you gather here is there sharing of the

1742
01:02:44,950 --> 01:02:40,960
data that you gather

1743
01:02:46,309 --> 01:02:44,960
across your colleagues beyond mms

1744
01:02:48,150 --> 01:02:46,319
that's an excellent question there's

1745
01:02:50,069 --> 01:02:48,160
some existing missions like the european

1746
01:02:52,710 --> 01:02:50,079
cluster mission which has a similar

1747
01:02:53,829 --> 01:02:52,720
thing it's got uh you know coarser

1748
01:02:55,910 --> 01:02:53,839
resolution

1749
01:02:58,230 --> 01:02:55,920
and a lot of things but i think if we're

1750
01:02:59,910 --> 01:02:58,240
in the same region of space

1751
01:03:02,870 --> 01:02:59,920
we can do a lot with cluster the other

1752
01:03:05,829 --> 01:03:02,880
one is thinnest in fact themis did some

1753
01:03:08,309 --> 01:03:05,839
maneuvers about a year ago to put put

1754
01:03:10,150 --> 01:03:08,319
them in alignment with mms so that we

1755
01:03:12,230 --> 01:03:10,160
launched we have our

1756
01:03:14,470 --> 01:03:12,240
spacecraft skimming the dayside

1757
01:03:17,029 --> 01:03:14,480
magnetopause themselves that same time

1758
01:03:19,109 --> 01:03:17,039
will be exactly 180 degrees out of phase

1759
01:03:20,390 --> 01:03:19,119
we're at noon they'll be at midnight

1760
01:03:22,150 --> 01:03:20,400
and so you know we'll look at

1761
01:03:24,069 --> 01:03:22,160
reconnection at the day side and they'll

1762
01:03:25,670 --> 01:03:24,079
look at the effects on the night side

1763
01:03:28,630 --> 01:03:25,680
and vice versa as they go around so

1764
01:03:30,549 --> 01:03:28,640
they're apogees 12 re exactly the same

1765
01:03:32,390 --> 01:03:30,559
as our dayside apogee

1766
01:03:33,750 --> 01:03:32,400
and so we look forward to a lot of

1767
01:03:35,349 --> 01:03:33,760
correlations with them and they really

1768
01:03:37,190 --> 01:03:35,359
took the initiative because their

1769
01:03:38,630 --> 01:03:37,200
spacecraft had been going for their

1770
01:03:40,150 --> 01:03:38,640
mission had been going for something

1771
01:03:42,069 --> 01:03:40,160
like seven years of course they're

1772
01:03:43,750 --> 01:03:42,079
looking for something new to do they had

1773
01:03:44,789 --> 01:03:43,760
five spacecraft they sent two off to the

1774
01:03:46,150 --> 01:03:44,799
moon and

1775
01:03:47,829 --> 01:03:46,160
they uh

1776
01:03:49,349 --> 01:03:47,839
all of a sudden here we come it was

1777
01:03:51,430 --> 01:03:49,359
really their idea

1778
01:03:53,910 --> 01:03:51,440
to sink these missions up

1779
01:03:56,309 --> 01:03:53,920
and so now we're doing it

1780
01:03:58,789 --> 01:03:56,319
the last part to answer your question is

1781
01:04:01,190 --> 01:03:58,799
also the data as soon as it's validated

1782
01:04:02,789 --> 01:04:01,200
and calibrated is publicly released so

1783
01:04:05,029 --> 01:04:02,799
scientists around the world actually

1784
01:04:07,270 --> 01:04:05,039
have access to the data it is not kept

1785
01:04:09,670 --> 01:04:07,280
to to nasa or the mms team it is

1786
01:04:12,710 --> 01:04:09,680
actually distributed for anyone uh to

1787
01:04:14,710 --> 01:04:12,720
look at the data um to run their own

1788
01:04:16,470 --> 01:04:14,720
models uh

1789
01:04:17,990 --> 01:04:16,480
and there are also many people are

1790
01:04:20,630 --> 01:04:18,000
invited to work with the team on

1791
01:04:22,870 --> 01:04:20,640
developing models so it is it really is

1792
01:04:24,870 --> 01:04:22,880
an international in that

1793
01:04:26,309 --> 01:04:24,880
endeavor

1794
01:04:28,230 --> 01:04:26,319
all right we're out of time so that's

1795
01:04:30,870 --> 01:04:28,240
going to wrap up our briefing and a

1796
01:04:33,109 --> 01:04:30,880
brief programming note our nasa tv

1797
01:04:35,510 --> 01:04:33,119
launch coverage will begin on thursday