NASA's AIM Satellite Mission | AIM Project Science

Time 2021-11-12 12:06:11

Web Name: NASA's AIM Satellite Mission | AIM Project Science

WebSite: http://aim.hamptonu.edu

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description:The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) NASA satellite mission is exploring PMCs/NLCs.
Contacts | Questions? Home Mission Overview Status Science Goals Science Objectives NASA Science Themes Instruments SOFIE CIPS CDE Instrument/ Calibration White Papers Final Mass, Power, Data Rates Data SOFIE Data at GATS CIPS Data at LASP CDE Data Education Mission Summary EPO Mission Summary - 1 Mission Summary - 2 Outreach Program Outreach Goals Media Center Science Concept Animations Print Books Favorite Science Links Career Paths Glossary Workshops Overview Heliophysics Educator Ambassador Program Workshop 2009 AIM/CloudSat/GLOBE 2007 Educator Workshop NSTA 2007 Presentation AIM/CloudSat/GLOBE 2006 Educator Workshop Alaska Math/Science Conference 2004 K-12 Lessons Problem-Based Learning Modules Teacher-Developed Lessons Instructor/Scientist Presentations Handouts Games Science Concept Animations National Standards State Frameworks Outreach Contacts Library AIM Publications AIM Presentations References on NLC/PMCs Image Gallery Artist Concepts Mission Graphics Noctilucent Clouds Spacecraft Science Diagrams Launch SOFIE CIPS CDE Featured Data Archive AIM Mission Logo Video Audio Clips AIM Song Data Product User Guides Instrument/ Calibration White Papers AIM Read Routines SDS Documents List of Acronyms Team Science Team Mission Ops Data Systems Personnel Project Data Center Personnel Launch Services Team EPO Team Partner Organizations HU VT LASP OSC SDL NRL GATS, Inc. GMU USU NTNU NASA Press Room Press e-Kit Media Contacts AIM Science News Graphics Facts Figures Launch Information Press Release Archive Science Team Members

2020 SENIOR REVIEW PROPOSAL

Proposal References AIM Publications AIM Team Presentations AIM NASA Science News

MISSION STATUS UPDATE

07.29.2020

Below: CIPS daily PMC frequencies at 80N latitude from 2007-2020. The most recent data correspond to 21 July 2020.
more at mission status update-

Below: Comparison of SOFIE and MIPAS NO vertical profiles, for coincident measurements in the SH (SOFIE spacecraft sunset; local sunrise), as a) average profiles, and b) mean and RMS differences.
more at mission status update-

Mission Status Update Archives

LAUNCH DETAILS

days
since AIM launched.

Launch Date: 25 April 2007

Location: Vandenberg AFB, California, USA

Launch Vehicle: Pegasus

Orbit: Sun-synchronus

Inclination: 97.8 degrees

Period: 96 min, 32 sec

After initial spacecraft stabilization, the spacecraft and instruments underwent extensive commissioning activities to ensure proper operation.

LINKS @ NASA

NASA Websites about AIM:

NASA's AIM site NASA Science Missions : AIM

Articles:

The Science of AIM NASA's AIM Satellite and Models are Unlocking the Secrets of Mysterious "Night-Shining" Clouds

NASA Images and Animations

Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere Images AIM: The First Season of Noctilucent Clouds

INSTRUMENTS

SOFIE

CIPS

CDE

Final Mass, Power, Data Rates for SOFIE, CIPS, CDE, BUS, and their totals.

NEWS ARCHIVES

AIM Flight Operations Team Honored with NASA's Group Achievement Award
Date: November 9, 2016
View Details

Record Early Start of Southern Hemisphere NLC Season
Date: November 28, 2016
The Watchers

Climate Change at the Edge of Space
Date: June 29, 2016
Spaceweather.com
View Article

Noctilucent Clouds Behaving Strangely
Date: March 1, 2015
View Article
Source: Spaceweather.com

Unexpected Teleconnections in Noctilucent Clouds
Date: June 24, 2014
View Article and Animation
Source: NASA

Press Release Archive

AIM DATA SETS

SOFIE Data at GATS CIPS Data at LASP CDE Data

Download Documentation:

Data Product User Guides Instrument/Calibration White Papers

Software Tools:

AIM Read Routines

THE MISSION

The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite mission is exploring Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs), also called noctilucent clouds, to find out why they form and why they are changing.

The AIM mission was launced April 25, 2007 and has been extended by NASA through the end of FY20. During this time the instruments monitor noctilucent clouds to better understand their variability and possible connection to climate change. Individual instrument data collection status, as well as spacecraft and instrument health, will be monitored throughout the life of the mission and reported periodically on this website.

The primary goal of the AIM mission is to help scientists understand whether the clouds' ephemeral nature, and their variation over time, is related to Earth's changing climate - and to investigate why they form in the first place. By measuring the thermal, chemical and other properties of the environment in which the mysterious clouds form, the AIM mission will provide researchers with a foundation for the study of long-term variations in the mesosphere and its relationship to global climate change. In addition to measuring environmental conditions, the AIM mission will collect data on cloud abundance, how the clouds are distributed, and the size of particles within them.

THE SECRETS OF NLCs

06.23.2014
Read the Full Article by EarthSky

Glowing silver-blue clouds that sometimes light up summer night skies at high latitudes, after sunset and before sunrise, are called noctilucent clouds. Also known as night shining clouds, they form in the highest reaches of the atmosphere the mesosphere as much as 50 miles (80 km) above the Earths surface. Theyre seen during summer in polar regions. Theyre typically seen between about 45 and 60 latitude, from May through August in the Northern Hemisphere or November through February in the Southern Hemisphere.

Click here for a video of noctilucent clouds over Antarctica in early 2014.

Noctilucent clouds are thought to be made of ice crystals that form on fine dust particles from meteors. They can only form when temperatures are incredibly low and when theres water available to form ice crystals.

Why do these clouds which require such cold temperatures form in the summer?

Read more + Photos/Video

SPACEWEATHER

Spaceweather Photo Gallery

Observing tips: Look west 30 to 60 minutes after sunset when the Sun has dipped 6o to 16o below the horizon. If you see luminous blue-white tendrils spreading across the sky, you've probably spotted a noctilucent cloud. Although noctilucent clouds appear most often at arctic latitudes, they have been sighted in recent years as far south as Colorado, Utah and Virginia. NLCs are seasonal, appearing most often in late spring and summer. In the northern hemisphere, the best time to look would be between mid-May and the end of August.

AIM NASA SCIENCE RELEASES

Another Lively Season of Night-Shining Clouds
Date: July 9, 2020 Article: NASA.gov

NASAs AIM Spots First Arctic Noctilucent Clouds of the Season
Date: May 28, 2020 Article: NASA.gov

Noctilucent Cloud Season 2020 Has Begun:
Date: May 17, 2020

Article: Spaceweather.com

NOCTILUCENT CLOUD SEASON HAS BEGUN:NASA's AIM spacecraft has detected a noctilucent cloud (NLC) inside the Arctic Circle--the first of the 2020 summer season. It is the blue puff in this satellite image of the North Pole. The detection on May 17th marks one of the earliest starts in the 14 year history of the spacecraft. In previous years, we have seen the first NLCs appear between May 15th and May 27th, says Cora Randall, a member of the AIM science team at the University of Colorado.Only once, in 2013 (May 15th), has the northern season started earlier than this.

2020 Northern Hemisphere NLC Forecast
Date: May 10, 2020
Spaceweather.com

Excerpt: Moisture and temperature are key ingredients of NLCs. The clouds flourish when the mesosphere is extra cold and wet. Harvey's plots show 2020 (red) splitting right down the middle of other recent years--not too cold and not too wet.

"So far, 2020 is shaping up to be fairly average," says Harvey. In other words, 2020 doesnotlook a repeat of 2019. This summer's clouds might be confined to higher latitudes again.

No one will know for sure, however, until NLC season actually begins. Daily images of NLCs from NASA's AIM spacecraft are postedon Spaceweather.com [and on AIM]. "Based on the MLS data, I would guess that the first NLCs will be spotted in two weeks or so," she says. Stay tuned to see if the forecast is correct!

Read full article -

NASA spacecraft spies electric-blue clouds over Antarctica
Date: January 7, 2018 EarthSky article

These noctilucent, or night-shining, clouds are seeded by debris from disintegrating meteors. They glow electric blue when they reflect sunlight.

click to enlarge

Noctilucent (night-shining) cloud over Antarctica in early January, 2018, from NASAs AIM satellite.

The sky over Antarctica is now glowing electric blue with noctilucent, or night-shining, clouds. Thats according to recent images from NASAs AIM spacecraft (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere), which monitors these clouds for the whole Earth. Read more -

Why did last week's SpaceX launch look so strange?
Date: December 26, 2017
https://www.popsci.com/spacex-launch-look-strange-alien

Space Weather News Noctilucent Clouds from Space
Date: July 28, 2017
http://spaceweather.com

NASA's AIM spacecraft is back in business. Following a months-long interruption in normal operations, the polar-orbiting satellite is beaming back new images of noctilucent clouds at the edge of space. Data arriving now show a magnificent ring of electric-blue surrounding Earth's north pole, confirming recent sightings from the surface of our planet. Visit today's edition of Spaceweather.com to learn more about these strange clouds and the status of AIM.

NLCs are, essentially, clouds of frosted meteor smoke. They form when wisps of summertime water vapor rise toward the top of Earth's atmosphere. Water molecules stick to the microscopic debris of disintegrated meteoroids, assembling themselves into tiny crystals of ice that glow beautifully in sunlight at the edge of space.

After delayed start, magnificent noctilucent clouds are back in full effectDate: July 04, 2017
The Watchers

Mystery of the Missing NLCs
Date: June 15, 2017
Spaceweather.com

NASAs AIM Observes Early Noctilucent Ice Clouds Over Antarctica
Date: December 2, 2016
www.nasa.gov

Data from NASAs Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, spacecraft shows the sky over Antarctica is glowing electric blue due to the start of noctilucent, or night-shining, cloud season in the Southern Hemisphere. This data was collected from Nov. 17-28, 2016. Credits: NASA/HU/VT/CU-LASP/AIM/Joy Ng, producer
View Full Article



ScienceCasts: Electric Blue Sunsets
Date: August 16, 2016

The AIM mission is a part of
NASA's Sun-Earth Connection Education Forum.

Responsible Official: James M. Russell III
Last Modified: August 19, 2020

Web Curator: Emily M. W. Hill

TAGS:Satellite AIM NASA Science Project Mission AIM 

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The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) NASA satellite mission is exploring PMCs/NLCs.

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