Recent advances in plasma diagnostic technology, flown on the NASA POLAR spacecraft, have transformed our understanding of the polar cap regions within the auroral ovals. Once thought to be a region devoid of any appreciable amount of plasma, the polar caps have now been shown to be filled with supersonic outflows of plasma from the Earth, headed toward the regions where plasma energization creates severe space plasma storms. These findings are important from space storm development time scales of hours to days to atmospheric evolution over geologic time.