Ionospheric Connection Explorer mission gets green light for development

NASA has announced that it is going forward with its Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON). Scheduled to launch in 2017, the orbital mission aims to study the effects of the lower atmosphere on the ionosphere and its impact on the Earth’s surface.

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From Link above:

“To better understand the ionosphere, ICON will be set in a 360 mi (580 km) high orbit, where it can maintain observations of the edge of space (62 mi/100 km), and up to 250 mi (400 km). The hope is that by gathering enough data, it will one day be possible to predict disturbances in the upper regions as easily as terrestrial weather is forecast. ICON’s suite of four instruments include the Michelson Interferometer for Global High-Resolution Thermospheric Imaging (MIGHTI) for measuring the speed and temperature of neutrally charged particles in the Earth’s atmosphere, a Ion Velocity Meter for measuring the speed of charged particles, and a pair of spectroscopes operating in the extreme and far ultraviolet spectra for identifying to composition of charged and neutral particles.”

Nice. I like it. We already know that the atmosphere expands and contracts in response to quite a few things, such as temperature and solar activity. It would be nice to keep an eye on it.