The TRACERS twin-spacecraft mission on magnetic reconnection and cusp dynamics

The overarching science goal of the TRACERS mission is to discover how spatial or temporal variations in magnetic reconnection drive cusp dynamics. Under this goal, TRACERS will answer the fundamental question of whether reconnection is dominantly spatially or temporally variable, and determine the associated reconnection rate. TRACERS will achieve its science goal with a simple mission design comprising two identical, small spacecraft in identical low-Earth orbits in a follow-the-leader configuration. TRACERS will make thousands of crossings in the northern cusp for a twelve-month primary mission using plasma and field instruments. These data will be analyzed using established dual-spacecraft techniques and supported by modeling that ensures science closure on the objectives. Our TRACERS team leverages hardware collaborations between the University of Iowa, Southwest Research Institute, University of California Los Angles, University of California Berkeley, and Millennium Space Systems. The science team consists of experts in reconnection, cusp physics, and modeling. TRACERS is dedicated to its proposer, and original Principal Investigator, Professor Craig Kletzing.