Abstract Auroral Kilometric Radiation (AKR), the strongest natural radio emission from Earth’s magnetosphere, has been primarily observed in space. It is generally understood to propagate anti‐Earthward and be detected at large radial distances, while Earthward‐directed waves are thought to be blocked by the ionosphere. Surprisingly, AKR‐like emissions have also been reported on low‐altitude orbits and even on the ground. Here we present Polar spacecraft observations of Earthward‐propagating emissions. Both Z‐mode and L–O mode waves are identified with Earthward‐propagating characteristics, and their occurrence statistics are obtained. We further compare these features with theoretical AKR distributions and validate their propagation using ray‐tracing simulations. The results indicate that while L–O mode emissions are likely reflected near the top of the ionosphere, Z‐mode waves can reach the upper ionosphere and convert into whistler‐mode waves. This supports the interpretation that ground‐level detections arise from Z–to–whistler mode conversion at the ionospheric boundary.