NASA CONFIRMS HU’S $101M AIM SATELLITE FLIGHT MISSION

Hampton, VA - Hampton University received final NASA approval of the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) mission for full development and satellite flight in its Small Explorer (SMEX) program.

The 24-month mission is scheduled for launch in September 2006.

Hampton University is responsible for the entire $101M AIM mission including hardware, software, flight operations, science team leadership, science data collection, reporting, data archival for use by the scientific community and education and public outreach.

Hampton University Professor James M. Russell III is the AIM Principal Investigator. A Deputy Principal Investigator, Professor Scott M. Bailey of the University of Alaska, is assisting him. Hampton is the prime contractor for hardware procurement and will manage all programmatic aspects of the project including development of the instruments and spacecraft.

The NASA Associate Administrator for Space Science, Dr. Edward Weiler, gave approval last week in a meeting held in Washington, DC for the mission.

Authorization to proceed came after a long, careful study spanning almost two years showing that the AIM mission can provide the science return on schedule and within cost. AIM is dedicated to the study of noctilucent or "night shining" clouds (NLCs) that form ~50 miles above the Earth’s surface usually in regions poleward of ~55o during summer. Interestingly, for three recent northern summers, the clouds were observed as low as 40oN.

In addition, more clouds are being observed than ever before and they are becoming brighter. The causes of these changes are unknown. The AIM mission will answer the fundamental question: "Why do NLCs form and vary?" The apparent equaterward movement of NLCs, their increasing frequency and increasing brightness raise the natural questions: Are NLCs nature’s harbinger of global change in the upper atmosphere and is there a link with global climate change? The latter possibility arises because CO2, which causes global warming in the lower atmosphere, causes cooling in the high atmosphere where NLCs form. A cold atmospheric temperature is one of the main ingredients needed in order for NLCs to exist. Carbon dioxide has been increasing at a rapid pace since the industrial era began. Clouds we normally see exist no higher than about 5 to 10 miles above the Earth surface.

AIM is exploring clouds at the edge of space where the sun first interacts with our atmosphere. The mission will observe four NLC seasons, two in each hemisphere.

Other partners with Hampton on the AIM project are the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, that will build two instruments and conduct flight operations, Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory that will build an instrument, Orbital Sciences Corporation that will build the spacecraft and GATS, Inc., that is responsible for software and AIM data management.

AIM provides the opportunity for significant HU student training in carrying out satellite missions. HU students will assist a team of experts in the design and implementation of the science data system, information retrieval from remote sensing instruments, instrument ground test data evaluation and in-orbit performance trending studies, operation of the AIM Project Data Center at HU and assistance in implementing the Education and Public Outreach program.

When national competition began for this SMEX opportunity in January 2000, there were 43 missions in contention.