Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere

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This article or section contains information regarding a future spaceflight.
Due to the nature of the content, details may change dramatically as the launch date approaches and/or more information becomes available.

Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) is a NASA-funded satellite scheduled to be launched into a polar orbit on April 25, 2007^[1] to conduct a 26-month study of noctilucent clouds (NLCs), which occur in the Earth's atmosphere at altitudes of roughly 80 kilometres above the surface, far higher than other clouds. Its mission is to determine what factors - temperature, water vapor, and dust particles - lead to the formation of these clouds, and why they have been seen to be changing.

AIM will be launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Pegasus-XL rocket deployed from an aircraft, and will orbit at a height of about 600 km.

[edit] Spacecraft and instruments

AIM is 55 inches (1.4m) tall and 43 inches (1.09m) wide and weighs 430 pounds (192 kg). Once in orbit solar arrays will deploy to power the satellite.

AIM will carry three instruments: CIPS (Cloud Imaging and Particle Size), CDE (Cosmic Dust Experiment), and [1]SOFIE (Solar Occultation for Ice Experiment).

CIPS has four cameras positioned at different angles. Multiple views of the clouds from different angles will allow a determination of the sizes of the ice particles that make up the cloud. The cameras will also provide panoramic NLC images of the polar cap daily.

CDE will record the amount of space dust that enters the atmosphere from the cosmos. It will allow scientists to determine the role the particles have in NLC formation.

SOFIE will use solar occultation to measure cloud particles, temperature and atmospheric gases involved in forming the clouds. The instrument will reveal the mixture of chemicals that prompt NLC's formation, as well as the environment in which the clouds form.