Atmospheric Waves Experiment
TheAtmospheric Waves Experiment(AWE) is aNASAinstrument to be mounted on the exterior of theInternational Space Station(ISS) for the study of atmosphericgravity waves(not to be confused with astrophysicalgravitational waves).
AWE was built by theUtah State UniversitySpace Dynamics Laboratory,and the mission is led by Michael Taylor of Utah State University.[1]NASA selected AWE as anExplorers ProgramMission of Opportunity in February 2019.[2][3]TheSpaceX CRS-29spacecraft carrying AWE was successfully launched on 10 November 2023. Once at the ISS, AWE will be extracted from the trunk section of theCargo Dragonby theDextrerobotic arm and attached to one of the station's Express Payload Adapter (ExPA),ELC-1Site 3.[4]After two years of observation at the ISS, AWE will be removed from the station and jettisoned to space, where it will be disposed of byreentering Earth's atmosphereto burn up.[5]
Mission[edit]
InEarth's atmosphere, differences in air density cause atmosphericgravity waves(AGWs). These AGWS are notable for traveling upward through the atmosphere carrying energy, eventually reaching space where they are hypothesized to affect the plasma environment surrounding Earth orspace weather.Space weather is known for causing interference in satellite and communication signals, includingGPSnavigation. Thus, an understanding of AGWs and how they interact with space weather may contribute to improving the forecast of radio interference.[6]
When AGWs are in the realm of the atmosphere called themesopause,they produce light, a phenomenon known asairglow.AWE will observe this airglow in infrared, with its location at the ISS allowing global coverage.[1]
Instrument[edit]
AWE will be NASA's first instrument dedicated to heliophysics on the ISS.[7]The AWE mission's hardware is the Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM), which consists of four identicalradiometertelescopes assembly. Each telescope has anInGaAsdetector array on itsfocal plane.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ab"AWE Launching to Space Station to Study Atmospheric Waves via Airglow".NASA.October 25, 2023.Retrieved2023-11-06.
- ^"NASA Selects Mission to Study Space Weather from Space Station".NASA.February 25, 2019.Retrieved2023-11-06.
- ^Foust, Jeff (February 26, 2019)."NASA selects space weather experiment for ISS".SpaceNews.Retrieved2023-11-06.
- ^"Magik Animation of Robotic Operations for Flight SpaceX-29 to ISS".NASA.September 8, 2023.Retrieved2023-11-06.
- ^"AWE Atmospheric Waves Experiment".NASASpace Station Research Explorer.Retrieved2023-11-06.
- ^"Science".AWE Mission.Retrieved2023-11-06.
- ^"Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) Calibration CALCON 2020".Utah State University.2020.Retrieved2023-11-07.
- ^"Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (AMTM) Flight Model Calibration Overview".Utah State University.2023.Retrieved2023-11-06.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- AWEwebsiteat nasa.gov
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