NASA set to launch Atmospheric Wave Experiment (AWE) mission to the International Space Station (ISS)
NASA set to launch Atmospheric Wave Experiment (AWE) mission to the International Space Station (ISS)
AWE is a pioneering NASA experiment designed to explore the interplay between terrestrial and space weather.
It will examine airglow (colourful bands of light in Earth’s atmosphere) to determine what combination of forces drives space weather in the upper atmosphere.
NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment, or AWE,
lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on the 29th commercial resupply mission (CRS-29) for NASA.
AWE’s environmental tests included:
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- Electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC) testing to ensure AWE does not produce or emit electromagnetic signals that could interfere with other critical equipment on the International Space Station.
- Exposing AWE to a variety of high-level noise sources to ensure that any interference originating from the space station will not impair AWE’s observations.
- Tests to verify ruggedness and reliability, electrostatic discharge, and voltage spikes.
- Vibration and strength validation testing using a shaker table that simulated the predicted conditions during launch.
- Thermal vacuum testing to demonstrate the performance and operation of the AWE instrument in a simulated flight environment.
- Instrument calibration in a vacuum chamber, which simulated on-orbit environmental conditions.
It will also measure Atmospheric Gravity Waves (AGWs) at mesopause (an atmospheric layer that begins some 87 km in altitude).
AGWs form as buoyancy lifts air upward, and gravity brings it back down.
♦ The upward movement encourages cloud formation, while the downward movement promotes clear skies.
These waves result from various processes like airflow over mountains, convection (e.g., thunderstorms), and frontal systems.
They serve to connect different parts of the atmosphere, such as a surface storm causing can causes changes in the ionosphere.
Space Weather describes the variations in the space environment between the sun and Earth.
Sun is the primary source of space weather with the greatest disturbances usually caused by solar flares and subsequent geomagnetic storms.
Space weather can affect power grids, radio or satellitebased communication, operations of navigation and Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
Significance of studying AGWs:
A better understanding of how gravity waves in the upper atmosphere interact with the jet stream, polar vortex and other phenomena could be key to improved weather predictions and climate models.