Cosmic check-up
Europe has launched three satellites to study and measure the Earth’s magnetic field.
Three new satellites. European researchers have launched a set of three satellites to make a thorough study of the Earth’s magnetic field. That’s important because the Earth’s well-being depends on an intact magnetic field, which forms a kind of protective shield against cosmic radiation. However, this natural barrier is subject to natural fluctuations. The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched the three Swarm satellites to find out more about the role it plays. The name says it all: the satellites’ job is to swarm around the Earth’s magnetic field taking measurements over a period of at least four years. Two of the satellites orbit side by side at an altitude of 450 kilometres, the third ascending to a higher orbit, at 530 kilometres. All three are operated from ESA’s European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt. According to ESA, the mission will provide images of the Earth’s magnetic field with a previously unattained level of precision. As an added bonus, the researchers hope to gain new insights into space weather phenomena. In the past, civilisation has been hit hard by such phenomena – in 1989, for example, a solar storm took down part of Canada’s power grid.
