Just when we thought the northern lights couldn’t get any prettier, NASA made them even more amazing!
NASA launched three rockets from Alaska as part of a project called AWESOME (short for Auroral Waves Excited by Substorm Onset Magnetic Events). Scientists from the University of Alaska Fairbanks led the mission to study how auroras affect the Earth’s atmosphere.
What Happened?
On March 25, NASA launched two rockets—one over central Alaska and one over the Arctic Ocean. These rockets carried tools like ion gauges, magnetometers, and colorful vapor tracers. When they released their payloads during a natural aurora, the sky lit up with bright blue and purple colors, mixing beautifully with the usual green and pink lights.
Then on March 29, a third rocket was launched. Something went a little wrong—its valve didn’t open properly. But instead of a failure, it created a stunning double-ring of white light that lit up the night sky. People who looked up saw a magical sight!
Why Did NASA Do This?
The team wanted to learn more about auroral substorms—sudden changes in the northern lights—and how they affect space weather. This can help protect satellites like GPS systems. Even with the small mistake on the third rocket, the mission was a big success!
As NASA expert Aly Mendoza-Hill said, “These launches help us understand auroras better and improve space weather forecasting.”