FEATURED DATA

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PMC data taken by the CIPS Instrument on 21 June 2008. The blue area is covered by the CIPS cameras. The white areas are PMCs.

Featured Data Archive

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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.

AIM DATA SETS

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MISSION STATUS

INSTRUMENTS

SOFIE

CIPS

CDE

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

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 is expected to last two or more years during which time the instruments will 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.

NEWS & PRESS

09.03.08
USA Today
Strange Clouds Spotted at the Edge of Earth's Atmosphere

08.25.08
Science@NASA
Strange Clouds at the Edge of Space

AWARDS

Congratulations to Amal Chandran and Susanne Benze on the AIM Team who were recognized for presenting outstanding student papers at The AGU Joint Assembly, Ft. Lauderdale, FLA May 27-30, 2008. The letters they received state:

"On behalf of the Space Physics and Aeronomy section of the American Geophysical Union, I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected to Receive an Outstanding Student Paper Award for your presentation at the 2008 Joint Assembly in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Congratulations! Your presentation was recognized as among the best of a strong group of student presenters, which sets an example for your fellow students and the entire AGU membership."

Amal Chandran, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Inter-hemispheric comparison of gravity waves observed in PMC's from the CIPS experiment on board the AIM spacecraft.

Susanne Benze, Comparison of CIPS and SBUV/2 Using a Generalized SBUV-Type Approach

MORE @ NASA

NASA's AIM website

Article: The Science of AIM