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Earth’s magnetosphere is coupled to the ionosphere through field-aligned currents (FACs) and particle precipitation, influencing ionospheric conductivity and bi-directional dynamics. While large-scale coupling patterns (e.g., Region-1 and -2 current patterns) are well-described, mesoscale features remain underexplored and poorly understood (spanning anywhere from 10s to hundreds of kilometers and from a few to 10s of minutes). Space-based in situ measurements are constrained along the orbit path, limiting our ability to link large-scale ionospheric measurements with space-based counterparts. The newly launched EZIE mission promises a revolution in understanding ionospheric currents with an innovative Zeeman imaging approach, yielding 2-d maps of ionospheric currents with 3 spacecraft to study the temporal evolution of mesoscale current systems. However, EZIE does not contain any in situ instrumentation, making linkage with magnetospheric processes difficult. In contrast, the multi-spacecraft Swarm mission provides highly accurate measurements of FAC and ionospheric convection velocity, but lacks the type of context measurements EZIE and broad ground-based measurements provide. With new ground-based datasets, including 3.5-second SuperDARN, and TREx all-sky imager array, and the ability to combine the space- and ground-based data through new data assimilative models such as Local mapping of the  polar ionospheric electrodynamics (Lompe), we have a timely opportunity to study mesoscale auroral features at spatial and temporal resolutions not previously available over such a broad geographical area. This ISSI team brings together experts in these new datasets to enhance the scientific return of EZIE and Swarm, leveraging the new ground-based datasets and data assimilation.