NASA rockets to probe Earth's upper atmosphere during Solar Eclipse 2024

NASA is gearing up to launch three sounding rockets during the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

Notably, sounding rockets are suborbital rockets designed to carry scientific instruments or experiments into the upper atmosphere of the Earth for the purpose of gathering data. They are typically used for atmospheric studies.

The mission rockets - Atmospheric Perturbations around Eclipse Path (APEP) - will see what effects the eclipse have on Earth's upper atmosphere. Led by Aroh Barjatya from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the rockets will lift off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

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The APEP rockets, previously used during the 2023 annular solar eclipse, have been refurbished with new instrumentation for this mission. As per the space agency NASA, these rockets will be launched at different intervals - 45 minutes before, during, and 45 minutes after the peak of the local eclipse.

These launches are timed to gather data on how the sudden dimming of sunlight during an eclipse influences the ionosphere.The ionosphere is a region of the Earth's upper atmosphere that extends from about 48 kilometres (30 miles) to several hundred kilometres above the Earth's surface. It is abundant in ions from the ionisation of molecules and atoms by solar radiation.

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Barjatya pointed out, “It’s an electrified region that reflects and refracts radio signals, and also impacts satellite communications as the signals pass through."

He added, “Understanding the ionosphere and developing models to help us predict disturbances is crucial to making sure our increasingly communication-dependent world operates smoothly.”

The APEP rockets will soar to a maximum altitude of 260 miles. They will measure charged and neutral particle density, as well as electric and magnetic fields. Moreover, each rocket will release secondary instruments to gather more comprehensive data.

“Each rocket will eject four secondary instruments the size of a two-liter soda bottle that also measure the same data points, so it's similar to results from fifteen rockets, while only launching three,” Barjatya noted.

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Alongside the rocket launches, teams across the US will employ various methods to study the ionosphere, including high-altitude balloons and ground-based radars.

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“We saw the perturbations capable of affecting radio communications in the second and third rockets, but not during the first rocket that was before peak local eclipse” said Barjatya while adding, “We are super excited to relaunch them during the total eclipse, to see if the perturbations start at the same altitude and if their magnitude and scale remain the same.”

(With inputs from agencies)