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THEMIS
Themis, the goddess of justice, wisdom and good counsel, the guardian of oaths in Greek mythology, represents the THEMIS mission.



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THEMIS bannerSide banner introducing Auroras

NASA's Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, THEMIS, 2 year mission consists of five identical probes that will track these violent, colorful eruptions of auroras near the North Pole.
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  MISSION NEWS
 
 THEMIS Launches!

THEMIS launch
Image above: The Delta II rocket with NASA's THEMIS spacecraft aboard lifts off Pad 17-B. Photo credit: NASA + View High-res

Taking multitasking to new heights, NASA launched the five THEMIS satellites aboard a single Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 6:01 p.m. EST. Racing into space on the flaming power of three rocket stages and nine solid rocket motors, the THEMIS satellites will soon disperse around Earth to monitor auroras like the Northern Lights.

NASA is undertaking the mission to investigate what causes auroras in the Earth's atmosphere to change in appearance and dissipate. Discovering why the light of auroras can fluctuate and fade will provide scientists with important details on how the planet's protective magnetosphere works and on the sun-Earth connection.

The Mission
THEMIS is a mission to investigate what causes auroras in the Earth's atmosphere to dramatically change from slowly shimmering waves of light to wildly shifting streaks of color. Discovering what causes auroras to change will provide scientists with important details on how the planet's magnetosphere works and the important Sun-Earth connection.
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  MISSION FEATURES
 
 THEMIS rendering
THEMIS Arrives in Florida for Launch Preparations
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 Artist's concept of THEMIS in orbit.
THEMIS/AIM Science Writer's Workshop
The THEMIS mission plans to unravel the tantalizing mystery behind auroral substorms, an avalanche of magnetic energy powered by the solar wind that intensifies the northern and southern lights.
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  NEWS AND EVENTS
 
 02.17.07 - NASA's THEMIS Mission Launched to Study Geomagnetic Substorms
NASA's Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms mission successfully launched Saturday, Feb. 17 at 6:01 p.m. EST from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral.
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 02.16.07 - Launch of THEMIS Postponed 24 Hours
The launch of NASA's THEMIS spacecraft aboard a Delta II rocket was scrubbed tonight six minutes before launch due to out-of-limit upper level winds.
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 02.09.07 - Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report
THEMIS was transported from Astrotech payload processing facility to Pad 17-B. The final major test, the Flight Program Verification, was successfully conducted on Feb. 6.
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 02.02.07 - Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report
At the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center, transportation of THEMIS to Pad 17-B was rescheduled from today until early Saturday morning.
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 01.26.07 - Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report
At the Astrotech payload processing facility near KSC, engineers and technicians are preparing the THEMIS spacecraft for mating to the upper stage booster, planned for Monday.
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 01.19.07 - Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report
At the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center, engineers and technicians successfully completed spin-balance testing of THEMIS on Jan. 12.
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 01.17.07 - THEMIS to Study Substorm Life Cycle
THEMIS is set to venture into space and help resolve the mystery of what triggers geomagnetic substorms.
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 01.12.07 - Expendable Launch Vehicle Status Report
At the Astrotech payload processing facility near Kennedy Space Center, engineers finished installing the five THEMIS probes onto the spacecraft's probe carrier on Wednesday.
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 01.11.07 - NASA Media Briefing on Mission to Study Auroras
NASA will host a media teleconference on Wednesday, Jan. 17, at 1 p.m. EST to discuss the THEMIS mission to study auroras.
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  LAUNCH COVERAGE 
 
 Delta II launches THEMIS
Launch of THEMIS
Take a look back at prelaunch and launch activities.
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+ Launch Day Videos
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+ View Photo Gallery
 


  MULTIMEDIA 
 
 Watch the THEMIS story
Watch the THEMIS story
All about the THEMIS satellites in a short video package.
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 THEMIS launch animation
THEMIS Movie Trailer
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+ View Video (Real)
 
 Thumbnail image for the All Sky imaging movie.
THEMIS All Sky Imaging Movie
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 THEMIS being prepare at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
+ THEMIS at KSC
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 THEMIS litho front thumbnail
THEMIS Lithograph

+ View the THEMIS lithograph
 


  RELATED SITES 
 
 Explorers Program
Learn about Goddard's role with the THEMIS mission.
+ In depth coverage

THEMIS Program at University of California at Berkeley
Learn more about Berkeley's role with the THEMIS mission.
+ In depth coverage

THEMIS Spacecraft
Learn more about Swales' role in the mission.
+ View Site

Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany
+ View Site

Institut fuer Weltraumforschung, Austria
+ View Site

Centre des Environements Terrestre et Planetaires, France
+ View Site

University of Calgary
Learn more about auroral imaging.
+ View Site



 


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Editor: Lynn Jenner
NASA Official: Brian Dunbar
Last Updated: February 17, 2007
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