For the first time, researchers have found that the number of electrical discharges on a spacecraft directly correlates to the number of electrons in the surrounding environment—information that could help scientists better understand how to protect equipment in space. Spacecraft environment discharges (SEDs) are transient electrical breakdowns that can damage sensitive onboard electronics and communication systems.

"We've long known that these SEDs exist," said Amitabh Nag, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and lead author on a new paper detailing the research.

"But we haven't understood the relationship between the electrons in the space environment and SEDs. To do that, we needed two sensors on a single spacecraft: one that looked at the number and activity of electrons, and another that looked at the radio frequency signal."