UPDATE: The craft successfully reached Earth orbit. The four craft successfully separated at 12:40 a.m.View full post on TwitterThursday night at 10:44 p.m. EST, NASA will launch its Magnetospheric Multiscale mission from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The MMS is a fleet of four probes that will move in formation to study the interaction between the Earth’s protective magnetosphere and the particles from the sun that will bombard our planet. It will specifically study magnetic reconnection—a process in which magnetic fields connect and disconnect, releasing a charge.The mission’s findings will help astronomers better understand the sun’s magnetosphere, the outer boundaries of our solar system, and even the energy emitted by black holes and other cosmic objects. By working in tandem, the probes will be able to provide a 3D picture of energetic activity in Earth’s magnetosphere. As always, NASA TV will provide a stream of the launch.Source: NASAAlso, this photo of the NASA MMS team and admin Charles Bolden is too wonderful not to share.Media Platforms Design TeamJohn WenzWriterJohn Wenz is a Popular Mechanics writer and space obsessive based in Philadelphia. He tweets @johnwenz.
