易胜博官网

Earlier this year, beneath the frigid, twilight skies near the Arctic Circle in Norway, a large rocket from a landing pad flanked by snow-capped peaks. An international group of students, including two from 易胜博官网, watched as the rocket soared into the upper atmosphere, carrying with it scientific instruments designed to sample the skies where northern lights dance.

易胜博官网 professor Marc Lessard and his students are studying one particular type of the northern lights called pulsating auroras to learn more about their contributions to nitrogen oxide (NOx) 鈥� a greenhouse gas 鈥� formation in the upper atmosphere.

Charged particles collide with gases like oxygen and nitrogen in the Earth鈥檚 atmosphere to create auroras, the colorful displays of light close to the North and South Poles. Pulsating auroras are sometimes more difficult to see with the naked eye, a barely perceptible, seconds-long tempo that pulses between a dim glow and total darkness. Lessard describes them as thin pancakes of light that stretch 100 km or more across the sky.

Pulsating auroras occur almost continuously, and scientists hypothesize that they trigger a series of chemical reactions forming NOx in the upper atmosphere. If the data from this research indicate there is indeed a connection between pulsating auroras and NOx production, scientists like Lessard theorize this phenomenon could be contributing to widespread, low-level ozone layer depletion.

鈥淒ata from this mission alone will not be enough to close the loop on this question, but it鈥檚 an important step to take nonetheless,鈥� Lessard says.

To that end, Naomi Wight 鈥�21 and Tyler Chapman 鈥�18 spent the last year designing and building an instrument called a photometer, a small rectangular device intended to measure NOx near the pulsating aurora. The photometer was affixed to a NASA rocket at the in Andenes, Norway, where it launched into the auroras high above Earth.

鈥淚 just kept thinking, 鈥業s this real?鈥欌�� Wight says of the launch. 鈥淚 was happy, sad, nervous, excited 鈥� all these emotions rushed through me when it finally blasted off.鈥�

Early in the rocket鈥檚 flight, Wight and Chapman monitored the atmospheric conditions and the photometer鈥檚 vital signs to make sure everything was working properly. But 34 seconds after liftoff, something strange happened: The data seemed to stop coming in, the system tried to reboot itself, then stopped again. Wight and Lessard are in the process of now trying to figure out what happened, but Lessard suspects there was an electrical fault somewhere else in the payload.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in space, and now I鈥檓 learning skills I wouldn鈥檛 have gotten in the classroom.鈥�

The 易胜博官网 photometer wasn鈥檛 the only scientific instrument aboard the rocket that recently launched; scientific instruments designed by student researchers from other institutions in the U.S., Norway, and Japan were also aboard to conduct other studies in the aurora. The same power snafu seems to have affected the other instruments, Wight explains. That doesn鈥檛 necessarily mean the team won鈥檛 have any usable data, though 鈥� they鈥檒l comb through it in the coming months in hopes of learning all they can about the pulsating auroras.

Provided all goes well with that process, Lessard says the data from this mission will be used to form the basis for a new project proposal to expand on what the team has learned so far. He emphasizes the importance of getting undergraduate students involved in research of this caliber.

鈥淩ockets are part of NASA鈥檚 Low-Cost Access to Space Program, which provides exceptional student learning opportunities,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough business and it can be stressful, but this is groundbreaking work and it鈥檚 a great opportunity for the students鈥� careers.鈥�

Wight and Chapman have both been involved in the newly formed , an interdisciplinary curriculum composed of electrical, mechanical听and computer engineering as well as physics topics. Chapman came up with the photometer design while on a 易胜博官网 International Research Opportunity for nine weeks at the University of Oslo in 2017. He is currently in Norway on a Fulbright Scholarship to study earthquakes.

Wight, who is originally from Lyndeborough, 易胜博官网, learned instrumentation fabrication techniques, including how to solder, in 易胜博官网鈥檚 Morse Hall to construct a circuit board for the photometer. Last August, she went to NASA鈥檚 Wallops Island in Virginia for 鈥渋ntegration,鈥� where scientists test the instruments they鈥檝e designed to make sure they work properly and make adjustments prior to the launch. The photometer worked well at integration, which paved the way for Wight鈥檚 travel to Norway to watch the rocket launch.听

Despite the issues during the launch, Wight says she has enjoyed the balance of data analysis and instrument fabrication 鈥� the combination of using her brain and her hands is appealing and provides experience that she can carry with her in her future career.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been interested in space, and now I鈥檓 learning skills I wouldn鈥檛 have gotten in the classroom,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very cool.鈥� 听

is 易胜博官网鈥檚 largest research enterprise, comprising five centers with a focus on interdisciplinary, high-impact research on Earth and climate systems, space science, the marine environment and seafloor mapping. With more than $43 million in external funding secured annually, EOS fosters an intellectual and scientific environment that advances visionary scholarship and leadership in world-class research and graduate education.