Solar activity regularly disturbs our planet, producing stunning auroras, but also endangering infrastructure in space and on the ground.
Meet the space weather sensors, Aurora, Swing and Sawa, ESA’s missions to monitor Earth’s atmosphere and study geomagnetic storms.
Think of Earth’s atmosphere as a layered cake: each layer is affected by space weather in its own way, and each mission will focus on different effects.
The Aurora mission will patrol the north and south poles, looking down on the shimmering lights that reveal the impact of space weather.
Swing will monitor the ionosphere, a layer of the atmosphere that, when disturbed, can disrupt radio signals and cause issues with satellite navigation and communication systems.
Sawa will study the thermosphere as space weather causes it to warm and expand, pushing satellites off course.
Aurora, Swing and Sawa, along with sensors onboard other satellites and on Earth’s surface, will feed data into space weather forecasts, alerts and other tools. Together, these services will help protect industries such as aviation, satellite navigation and power grids from disruption.
We cannot prevent space weather, but with the space weather sensors developed by ESA’s Space Safety programme, Europe will know when to brace for impact.
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