NASA’s ARTEMIS Mission Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of Moon's Interaction with the Sun Credit: SSL, UC-Berkeley

Moon and the Solar Wind Can you imagine what life on the Moon would be like? Here on Earth, our atmosphere protects us from some of the intense radiation from the Sun. But the Moon does not have an atmosphere. (What are the astronauts on the Moon in this image missing?) two astronauts on Moon with Earth in backdrop; Credit: lifeinthefastlane.ca by Yazid Masa

Because of the lack of atmosphere, the Moon is flooded with charged particles from the Sun called high-speed electrons and protons. This constant stream of dangerous particles make up the solar wind. In planning for future space travel, radiation is an ever-present concern.

Earth’s Magnetosphere NASA has been studying the region around the Earth that protects us from the solar wind. This protected region is called the magnetosphere, and is a result of Earth’s magnetic poles that a compass points to. This giant magnetic bubble – Earth’s magnetic field – can store and release energy from the charged particles in the solar wind. Sun and magnetosphere; Credit: NASA - scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov

THEMIS A group of five satellites, called THEMIS, was launched in 2007. These special satellites measure the solar wind and Earth’s magnetism, and are helping scientists to unlock the mystery of how Earth's magnetosphere stores and releases energy from the Sun. THEMIS spacecraft and Earth; Credit: dailygalaxy.com

ARTEMIS In 2010, THEMIS completed its primary mission to study powerful energy releases, called substorms, that are visible in the Northern Hemisphere as a sudden brightening (colorful eruptions) of the Northern Lights Lights. Maybe you’ve heard that phenomenon being called the Aurora Borealis. Aurora borealis: alexandrosmaragos.com THEMIS spacecraft and Earth: marble.eu

From THEMIS to ARTEMIS With the primary THEMIS mission at Earth finished, two of the satellites fired their thrusters to transfer them to the Moon.  For the first time, NASA recycled two used satellites and put them to work on a brand new mission, called ARTEMIS.  Artist’s depiction of ARTEMIS spacecraft, Earth and Moon; Credit: artemis_John moore_moonposter.ie.jpg

From THEMIS to ARTEMIS To learn more about how two of the THEMIS satellites became ARTEMIS, check out this interview with scientist Daniel Cosgrove on “How to Recycle a Spacecraft” http://cse.ssl.berkeley.edu/artemis/epo-interviews-how-to-recycle-a-spacecraft.html And then watch this video, “ARTEMIS Trajectory Movie” http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003600/a003682/ARTEMISdeluxeC_HD720.mov

ARTEMIS Mission This mission is called ARTEMIS, or Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of Moon's Interaction with the Sun. As the name suggests, the two spacecraft measure what happens when the Sun’s radiation hits our rocky Moon, where there is no magnetic field to protect it. Artist’s rendition of ARTEMIS spacecraft and Moon; Credit: orbiterspacenews.blogspot.com

ARTEMIS Mission As the Moon orbits the Earth, it moves into and out of our magnetic shield. What happens to the Moon when it is within Earth’s magnetic shield? What happens to the Moon when it is not protected, and it is hit with many charged particles in the solar wind? These are some of the mysteries scientists are interested in resolving. Credit: SSL, UC-Berkeley and Emmanuel Masongsong, UCLA