MMS consists of four identical spacecraft that will orbit around Earth through the dynamic magnetic system surrounding our planet to study a little-understood phenomenon called magnetic reconnection.
This mission will provide the first three-dimensional view of magnetic reconnection in the Earth to the Sun, a process that will help to understand how are the magnetic fields in the universe connected and disconnected. Scientists hope to obtain data of the structure and dynamics of the energy exchange magnetic fields when found, at which an explosive release of energy is produced.
The four spacecraft, equipped with high-precision sensors, simultaneously fly in formation, at a distance of about 10 km from each other, so that the combination of this data allows to have a three-dimensional view.
The MMS mission will use the Earth's magnetosphere as a laboratory to study magnetic reconnection addition, two other fundamental processes such as acceleration of energetic particles and turbulence.
The launch was the 53rd for the Atlas V and marked the completion of about six years of rocket selection, manufacturing and integration ahead of the launch preparation for the MMS and NASA's Launch Services Program teams along with United Launch Alliance.
The MMS a day before its launch, which took place through
an Atlas V 421 rocket from the SLC-41 ramp of Cape Canaveral Air Base.
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