An observer developed at UIUC will study space weather and how it affects us on Earth
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with a Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) as it's primary payload, lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. AP Photo/John Raoux
On September 24, 2025, a Space X rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Florida, delivering the Carruthers Geocorona Observatory to space. We talked with Lara Waldrop, electrical and computer engineering associate professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She led this first NASA mission connected to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The satellite will capture high-resolution ultraviolet images of the exosphere, Earth’s upper atmosphere. We talked about why the observatory tracks weather in space and why it’s very important for all of us here on Earth.
Interview by Maddie Stover, doctoral student in physics and Steve Nesbitt, professor of Climate, Meteorology, and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
Funding for Weather Realness is partially provided by the Backlund Charitable Trust. If you have a weather or climate question for the scientists on this program, please leave a voicemail at 217.333.2141 or email weatherrealness@illinois.edu.
