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Why They're Launching Rockets Into the Northern Lights

Season 3 Episode 2 | 9m 27s

The rockets fired from Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska aren’t headed to mars, the moon, or even space–they’re headed into the northern lights. In Alaska’s frozen darkness, scientists launch instruments straight through the aurora to study solar storms that can disrupt GPS, satellites, and power grids. What they discover could help protect our planet from the next big space weather event.

Aired: 03/06/26
Extras
Celebrate the life and career of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Mary Oliver.
Preview: 250 Years of Americana
Soybeans may soon be part of the asphalt beneath you.
A Vermont couple finds new ways to better protect their land from drought and floods.
An Iowa farm thrives as one of the state’s few Black-owned farms.
A Georgia farm keeps the produce coming year-round by planting and harvesting in different locations
See how college students are turning soybeans into new products like baby wipes.
A California farmer shares easy-to-grow mushrooms with giftable box kits.
A Minnesota farm family plants a new kind of wheat that restores the soil and saves water.
A Montana rancher honors his ancestors, and Mother Earth, by restoring native grasses to his land.
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