Accredited news media are invited to NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Friday, Oct. 17, 2014, beginning at 9 a.m. EDT to get a firsthand look at the four Magnetospheric Multiscale, or MMS, spacecraft, tour our state-of-the-art test facilities and learn about how this mission will help improve our understanding of magnetic reconnection – a universal process where magnetic fields connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy.
MMS will provide the first ever three-dimensional view of the reconnection process, which is one of the most important drivers of space weather events. MMS will fly through known reconnection regions around Earth, improving our understanding the reconnection process throughout the universe, such as in the atmosphere of the sun, near black holes, and at the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space. Launch is currently scheduled for March 2015 aboard an Atlas V launch vehicle from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.
Stops on the Goddard tour will include:
- Large hyperwall, where stunning HD MMS visuals will be shown on up to 15 large display monitors.
- Cleanroom, for an up-close look at the four MMS spacecraft, where they are being prepared for launch.
- Magnetic Test Facility, a metal and coil enclosure that simulates magnetic field environments on spaceflight hardware and spacecraft before it’s launched.
- Full-size MMS spacecraft model constructed by students in West Virginia.
- Community Coordinated Modeling Center, where researchers support and perform research and development for next-generation space science and space weather models.
To register for this event, reporters must contact Susan Hendrix at susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov. The registration deadline for non-U.S. citizens is Noon, Monday, Sept. 29. The deadline for U.S. citizens and green card holders is noon, Wednesday, Oct. 8. Interview opportunities for news media will be offered.
More information about the MMS mission is available at:
Susan Hendrix
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov
301-286-7745