Model of CNOFS CINDI-will study the elements that influence space weather near Earth's equator.

CINDI Hunts Giant, Radio-Busting Plasma Bubbles

This photo shows a scale model of the C/NOFS probe. NASA's CINDI instrument is installed on C/NOFS. Graphic courtesy of the U.S. Air Force



They come out at night over the equator -- giant bubbles of plasma, a gas of electrically charged particles, silently rise in the upper atmosphere. While invisible to human eyes, they can disrupt crucial radio communication and navigation signals, like the Global Positioning System (GPS). NASA is collaborating with the Air Force on a unique investigation that will study how these bubbles form by conducting the Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamic Investigation (CINDI) as part of the payload for the Air Force Communication/Navigation Outage Forecast System satellite.

"Understanding when and where plasma bubbles occur, how severe they will be and how long they will last is vitally important since interference from plasma bubbles affects GPS signals and other radio signals that can travel around the globe by reflection from layers in Earth's upper atmosphere, called the thermosphere and the ionosphere," said CINDI Principal Investigator Prof. Rod Heelis of the University of Texas at Dallas. "These signals are used for communication and navigation by a wide variety of commercial and government entities including the Federal Aviation Administration and search and rescue operations. Most of us are directly or indirectly dependent on the proper function of these space-based systems and it is imperative that we attempt to predict the times when such systems may not be reliable."