NASA Experiment to Track Space ‘Doughnut’ Encircling Earth
Summary: NASA's new STORY instrument on the ISS will study Earth's 'ring current,' a doughnut-shaped region of charged particles, to understand how solar storms impact our planet from an 'inside-out' perspective.
While astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) look down at Earth, a new NASA instrument called STORY (Storm Time Outflow Response to Ionospheric Heating) will reverse that view. Installed on the exterior of the ISS, STORY will look out into space to observe the 'ring current' – a doughnut-shaped region of charged particles encircling Earth. This instrument will monitor these particles with unprecedented detail to understand how solar explosions and solar storms from the Sun impact Earth's ring current. By studying whether particles fall like rain or surge like a waterfall, STORY aims to improve our understanding of how space weather develops and ultimately impacts satellites, power systems, and other critical infrastructure on Earth, offering a new 'inside-out' perspective compared to previous top-down studies.
Playback guide
1. time: 00:00 visual: View of the International Space Station orbiting Earth. speaker: Narrator text: Aboard the International Space Station, astronauts look down at Earth every day. 2. time: 00:03 visual: An astronaut inside the ISS looking out a window at Earth. speaker: Narrator 3. time: 00:05 visual: Alex Glocer (Principal Investigator) in a light blue shirt, speaking in front of a purple hexagonal background. He has a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center logo on his shirt. speaker: Narrator text: A new NASA instrument called STORY will reverse that view. 4. time: 00:09 visual: Animated view of the ISS orbiting Earth. speaker: Narrator text: Installed on the exterior of the space station, STORY will look out at space to observe a swarm of charged particles that influence how explosions from the Sun impact our planet. 5. time: 00:13 visual: Animation of Earth with magnetic field lines (orange loops) and green lines representing STORY's observational view extending into space. speaker: Narrator 6. time: 00:16 visual: Animation of Earth surrounded by a doughnut-shaped region of charged particles, with colors indicating intensity (yellow, orange, purple). Followed by a close-up of the Sun with a large solar flare. speaker: Narrator 7. time: 00:21 visual: Animation of the doughnut-shaped region around Earth. The text 'RING CURRENT' appears. speaker: Narrator text: This doughnut-shaped region circling Earth is known as the ring current. 8. time: 00:26 visual: Animation of a bright solar blast hitting Earth's magnetosphere, followed by an animation of electrical arcs on a satellite and then a power pylon. speaker: Narrator text: When a solar blast hits our planet, it can disrupt satellites in space and power systems on the ground. 9. time: 00:33 visual: Artistic rendering of Earth with magnetic field lines and a glowing ring current, set against a star-filled background. Credit: J. Goldstein. speaker: Narrator text: But whether it has these effects or not depends on how Earth's ring current responds. 10. time: 00:38 visual: Animation showing particle density (blue/red colors) around Earth, with a white arc indicating a boundary. The word 'EARTH' is labeled. speaker: Narrator text: For example, the ring current may surge, gathering new particles, intensifying the solar storm's effects. 11. time: 00:46 visual: Alex Glocer speaking again. speaker: Narrator text: Whether the particles fall like rain or surge like a waterfall is a question STORY is trying to answer. 12. time: 00:52 visual: The STORY instrument, covered, on a yellow cart in a lab. speaker: Narrator text: STORY will monitor the particles with outstanding detail, 13. time: 00:54 visual: A person in a cleanroom suit handling a component of the STORY instrument, placing a red 'FLIGHT' cover. Followed by a close-up of the instrument's components with the cover removed. speaker: Narrator text: which will help us understand how the ring current develops and evolves during solar storms. 14. time: 01:00 visual: Two men looking at computer screens in a lab. One screen shows 'Heliophysics' and a NASA logo. speaker: Narrator text: and ultimately, how they will impact Earth. 15. time: 01:02 visual: Animation of Earth surrounded by green and yellow glowing regions representing particle distribution. speaker: Narrator 16. time: 01:05 visual: Animation of Earth with a glowing orange ring current, seen from a 'top-down' perspective. Credit: Johns Hopkins APL. speaker: Narrator text: While previous missions studied this space doughnut from the top down, 17. time: 01:09 visual: Close-up of the STORY instrument's curved metallic components with labels like '-10kV' and '+10kV'. speaker: Narrator text: STORY's position outside the orbiting laboratory will allow it to look at the ring current from inside out. 18. time: 01:13 visual: Animation of Earth with magnetic field lines, and green lines showing STORY's observational path from within the ring current. speaker: Narrator 19. time: 01:19 visual: Alex Glocer speaking again. speaker: Narrator text: This new perspective on solar storms can help us better protect our society from space weather. 20. time: 01:24 visual: NASA logo appears on a black background. speaker: Narrator