Author: Abbey Interrante

AWE Completes Space Environment Tests

NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) has successfully completed its critical space environment tests. Planned for launch to the International Space Station, AWE will study gravity waves in Earth’s atmosphere to gain a deeper knowledge of the connections caused by climate systems throughout our atmosphere and between the atmosphere and space.

From its unique vantage point on the International Space Station, AWE will look directly down into Earth’s atmosphere to study how gravity waves travel through the upper atmosphere. Data collected by AWE will enable scientists to determine the physics and characteristics of atmospheric gravity waves and how terrestrial weather influences the ionosphere, which can affect communication with satellites.

Astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photo from the International Space Station on August 9, 2015, showing our galaxy and our home world posing together beyond the orbital outpost. The Milky Way stretches below the curve of Earth’s limb in the scene that also records a faint red band of airglow. Credit: NASA/Scott Kelly

The AWE mission is focused on understanding gravity waves in Earth’s atmosphere at altitudes between 50 and 500 kilometers, called the ionosphere-thermosphere-mesosphere system. Space weather in this region – the ionosphere in particular – can significantly disrupt space-based communication systems we rely on due to the high concentration of electrically charged particles there. By studying atmospheric gravity waves, scientists will understand more about how Earth’s weather influences upper atmospheric properties.

“AWE is a highly sensitive, precise science instrument designed to be fitted on the International Space Station and operate in the harsh space environment,” said Burt Lamborn, AWE project manager at Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL), where the tests were conducted. “To ensure that AWE will survive launch turbulence and operate as designed once in space, SDL put the instrument through its paces on the ground.”

The AWE instrument underwent electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility testing to ensure it does not produce or emit electromagnetic signals that could interfere with other equipment onboard the space station, and to verify that interference from the space station will not impair AWE’s ability to produce data. AWE was also subjected to vibration testing on a shaker table that simulated the predicted launch vibration that AWE will experience. During thermal vacuum testing, AWE experienced a simulated flight environment, including cycling between hot and cold temperature extremes. Engineers performed a full-system calibration to verify that the instrument meets mission requirements and to demonstrate its performance and limitations under operational conditions.

AWE is led by Michael Taylor at Utah State University in Logan, and it is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory is building the AWE instrument and will provide the mission operations center.

NASA’s AWE Mission to Study Airglow

NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) will study atmospheric gravity waves to understand the flow of energy through Earth’s upper atmosphere and space. Powerful waves are formed by weather disturbances, such as strong thunderstorms, brewing hurricanes, or winds rushing upward over massive obstacles at Earth’s surface, like the towering Andes Mountains.

The bottom half shows a dark, cloudy Earth from above. The middle of the image, outlining the Earth is a glowing line, that goes from orange, to teal green. Above the Earth, there is a dark starry sky. There is a red foggy line – airglow. Peaking out from the top is the International Space Station.
This image taken from the International Space Station shows swaths of airglow hovering in Earth’s atmosphere. NASA’s new Atmospheric Waves Experiment will observe airglow from a perch on the space station to help scientists understand, and ultimately improve forecasts of, space weather changes in the upper atmosphere. Credits: NASA

AWE will fly on the International Space Station. By using the space station orbit to its advantage, AWE will look directly down on the atmospheric waves, surveying and measuring their properties.

The better we understand the physics and characteristics of these waves, the better we understand – and ultimately, can better forecast – our atmosphere, weather, and climate.

AWE joins NASA’s heliophysics mission fleet, which studies a vast interconnected system from the space surrounding Earth and other planets to the farthest limits of the Sun’s constantly flowing stream of solar wind. AWE will complement NASA’s two other upper atmosphere missions, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) and Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD). While ICON and GOLD study large-scale features in the upper atmosphere, the gravity waves AWE will study are comparatively small. The result is a comprehensive set of observations dedicated to exploring the relationship between Earth’s atmosphere and the space around us.

AWE is led by Michael Taylor at Utah State University in Logan, and it is managed by the Explorers Program Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory is building the AWE instrument and will provide the mission operations center.

Prepare to be in awe!

By Matina Douzenis
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.