Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites#Instruments

File:Geodynamo Between Reversals.gif. The lines represent magnetic field lines, blue when the field points towards the center and yellow when away.]]

TRACERS is a future mission by NASA that aims to answer long-standing questions critical to understanding the Sun-Earth System. TRACERS is a pair of identically instrumented spinning spacecraft that will study how the Sun's solar wind interacts with the Earth's magnetosphere. TRACERS was initially planned to be launched as a secondary mission to another orbiter, Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere (PUNCH). PUNCH will study the solar wind, a stream of charged particles emanating from the Sun, while TRACERS will study Earth's response.[https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-selects-missions-to-study-our-sun-its-effects-on-space-weather NASA Selects Missions to Study Our Sun, Its Effects on Space Weather], NASA Press Release, 20 June 2019

File:Cusp-animation.gif

TRACERS will observe solar particles interacting with Earth's magnetic field at the northern magnetic cusp region. In the cusp, the field lines act as a guide to particles moving from the boundary between Earth's magnetic field down into the atmosphere. In a process known as magnetic reconnection, the field lines violently reconfigure, sending particles out at speeds that can approach the speed of light. Some of these particles will be guided by the Earth's field into the region where TRACERS can observe them.[https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/06/26/nasa-selects-missions-to-observe-the-sun-and-its-impact-on-earth/NASA NASA selects missions to observe the sun and its impact on Earth], Stephen Clark, Spaceflight Now, 26 June 2019 TRACERS will study a longstanding question about where reconnection happens at the magnetopause and how the solar wind affects its place and timing, helping NASA better forecast the influx of energetic particles into Earth's magnetic field that has the potential to disrupt the power grid and satellite communications. TRACERS and PUNCH will work together with the other existing heliophysics spacecraft.

On 20 June 2019, NASA announced that PUNCH and TRACERS were the winning candidates to become the next missions in the agency's Small Explorer program.{{cite web |last=Frazier |first=Sarah |url=https://blogs.nasa.gov/punch/2021/07/27/nasas-punch-mission-to-study-the-suns-environment-moves-toward-launch/ |title=NASA's PUNCH Mission to Study the Sun's Environment Moves Toward Launch |work=NASA |date=27 July 2021 |access-date=28 July 2021}} On 29 September 2023 NASA Launch Services Program selected SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket to provide the launch service for TRACERS launch through the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) program.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/news-release/nasa-announces-launch-services-for-pair-of-space-weather-satellites|title=NASA Announces Launch Services for Pair of Space Weather Satellites|date=September 29, 2023|accessdate=October 5, 2023|first1=Jennifer M.|last1=Dooren|publisher=NASA}}

TRACERS has a target launch readiness date of Summer 2025.

• DC Magnetometer (MAG) a fluxgate magnetometer that provides measurements of the background magnetic field up to 5 Hz will be provided by University of California, Los Angeles.
• Search coil magnetometer (MSC) a three-axis magnetic search coil to measure AC magnetic field from 2 Hz up to 1 kHz will be provided by University of Iowa.
• Electric Field Instrument (EFI) a two axis electric field experiment to measure electric fields from 1 Hz to 1 kHz.will be provided by University of California, Berkeley.
• Analyzer for Cusp Electrons (ACE) an electrostatic analyzer to measure cusp electrons from 40 eV to 10 keV will be provided by University of Iowa.
• Analyzer for Cusp Ions (ACI) is an electrostatic analyzer to measure cusp ions from 50 eV to 10 keV.
• A technology demonstration, Magnetometers for Innovation and Capability (MAGIC), was added in 2020 with the goal to test prototype magnetic-field instruments.{{cite web |last=Allen |first=Molly |url=https://dailyiowan.com/2020/06/24/ui-led-space-mission-funded-by-115-million-grant-from-nasa-takes-next-step/ |title=UI-led space mission funded by $115 million grant from NASA takes next step |work=The Daily Iowan |date=24 June 2020 |access-date=3 May 2021}}

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• Heliophysics
• Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
• Solar storm

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