A NASA sounding rocket was launched from Poker Flat Research Range early Friday morning as part of an ongoing effort to study nitric oxide created by the aurora in the upper atmosphere. The mission, known as Polar Night Nitric Oxide (PolarNOx), is led by Scott Bailey, an engineering professor at Virginia Tech. The launch team included a significant number of Virginia Tech students and staff.
The research focuses on measuring levels of nitric oxide, a gas that can descend into lower parts of the atmosphere and potentially harm Earth’s ozone layer. Data collected from this flight will help scientists better understand how much of the gas is present at various altitudes.
This recent launch builds on earlier work from 2020, which took place during a period of low solar activity. According to project leaders, this year’s launch benefits from increased auroral activity due to the current high point in the sun’s 11-year cycle.
Poker Flat Research Range is owned by the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and operated under contract with NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, which is part of Goddard Space Flight Center.
Two more missions are planned for this season, with launch windows set for February 7-20. One project, called Geophysical Non-Equilibrium Ionospheric System Science (GNEISS), will use two rockets launched 30 seconds apart to study disturbances in Earth’s ionosphere and their effect on auroral formations. Dartmouth College professor Kristina Lynch leads this mission.
Another upcoming mission, Black and Diffuse Aurora Science Surveyor, is headed by Marilia Samara from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. This project examines black auroras—dark shapes formed when streams of auroral particles temporarily thin or stop in certain areas—within broader diffuse auroras. The mission was ready for launch in early 2025 but was postponed due to unsuitable aurora conditions.
Updates on future launches can be received by texting PFRRLAUNCHES to 866-485-7614 or by visiting the Poker Flat active missions webpage for live broadcasts.
“Data from the launch will give Bailey a profile of the gas density at different altitudes,” according to information provided by the research team.
