NASA

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NASAs ARTEMIS Mission

• Acceleration, Reconnection, Turbulence and
  Electrodynamics of Moon's Interaction with the
  Sun

Credit SSL, UC-Berkeley
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Moon and the Solar Wind

• Can you imagine what life on the Moon would be
  like? Here on Earth, our atmosphere protects us
  from some of the intense radiation from the Sun.
  But the Moon does not have an atmosphere. (What
  are the astronauts on the Moon in this image
  missing?)

two astronauts on Moon with Earth in backdrop
Credit lifeinthefastlane.ca by Yazid Masa
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Because of the lack of atmosphere, the Moon is
flooded with charged particles from the Sun
called high-speed electrons and protons. This
constant stream of dangerous particles make up
the solar wind. In planning for future space
travel, radiation is an ever-present concern.
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Earths Magnetosphere

• NASA has been studying the region around the
  Earth that protects us from the solar wind. This
  protected region is called the magnetosphere, and
  is a result of Earths magnetic poles that a
  compass points to. This giant magnetic bubble
  Earths magnetic field can store and release
  energy from the charged particles in the solar
  wind.
• Sun and magnetosphere
  Credit NASA - scijinks.jpl.nasa.gov

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THEMIS A group of five satellites, called
THEMIS, was launched in 2007. These special
satellites measure the solar wind and Earths
magnetism, and are helping scientists to unlock
the mystery of how Earth's magnetosphere stores
and releases energy from the Sun.
THEMIS spacecraft and
Earth Credit dailygalaxy.com
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ARTEMIS

• In 2010, THEMIS completed its primary mission to
  study powerful energy releases, called substorms,
  that are visible in the Northern Hemisphere as a
  sudden brightening (colorful eruptions) of the
  Northern Lights Lights. Maybe youve heard that
  phenomenon being called the Aurora Borealis.

Aurora borealis alexandrosmaragos.com
THEMIS
spacecraft and Earth marble.eu
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From THEMIS to ARTEMIS
With the primary THEMIS mission
at Earth finished, two of the satellites fired
their thrusters to transfer them to the Moon. 
For the first time, NASA recycled two used
satellites and put them to work on a brand new
mission, called ARTEMIS. 
Artists depiction of ARTEMIS spacecraft, Earth
and Moon Credit artemis_John moore_moonposter.ie
.jpg
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From THEMIS to ARTEMIS

• To learn more about how two of the THEMIS
  satellites became ARTEMIS, check out this
  interview with scientist Daniel Cosgrove on How
  to Recycle a Spacecraft http//cse.ssl.berkeley.e
  du/artemis/epo-interviews-how-to-recycle-a-spacecr
  aft.html
• And then watch this video, ARTEMIS Trajectory
  Movie
• http//svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003600/a0036
  82/ARTEMISdeluxeC_HD720.mov

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ARTEMIS Mission
This mission is called ARTEMIS, or Acceleration,
Reconnection, Turbulence and Electrodynamics of
Moon's Interaction with the Sun. As the name
suggests, the two spacecraft measure what happens
when the Suns radiation hits our rocky Moon,
where there is no magnetic field to protect it.
Artists rendition of ARTEMIS spacecraft and
Moon Credit orbiterspacenews.blogspot.com
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ARTEMIS Mission

• As the Moon orbits the Earth, it moves into and
  out of our magnetic shield. What happens to the
  Moon when it is within Earths magnetic shield?
  What happens to the Moon when it is not
  protected, and it is hit with many charged
  particles in the solar wind? These are some of
  the mysteries scientists are interested in
  resolving.

Credit SSL, UC-Berkeley and Emmanuel Masongsong,
UCLA