Who: The Active Magnetosphere and Planetary Electrodynamics Response Experiment satellites developed by Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory, Iridium Communications Inc. and The Boeing Company
What: The AMPERE uses 60 ultra-low orbit satellites to forecast and monitor solar and space weather, as well as predict how it will affect Earth. Using real-time detection of magnetic fields, AMPERE can observe Earth from all angles, allowing for more accurate forecasts of solar flare activity.
Future: Just in time for the increased solar activity cycle that Earth will experience for the next three to five years, researchers are hoping to be able to predict solar geomagnetic storms hours or days prior to impact with Earth's magnetic field. Solar storms cause breathtaking, intensified auroras in the northern and southern poles but can also cause power-grid, satellite and telecommunication blackouts, therefore posing a threat to high altitude aircrafts. Improved forecasting may help to prepare for and avoid these negative effects.
-compiled by Aradhya Nigam