A new mission will attempt to chart a mysterious ring-shaped current surrounding the Earth, so that researchers can better protect satellites and power infrastructure from charged particles in space.
The NASA mission, called STORIE (Storm Time O+ Ring current Imaging Evolution), will try to hunt down more details about this "ring current" that traps charged particles in a doughnut shape around our planet. The payload also aims to answer a big question: do these particles come from the sun, or from Earth?
