Two NASA Satellites Slated For 2017 Launch Will Focus on Edge of Space

While ICON will orbit Earth at an altitude of 350 miles, observing airglow from charged particles in the ionosphere and neutral particles in the atmosphere, GOLD will take similar measurements while parked in a geostationary orbit 22,000 miles above Earth to get a global view of how the ionosphere changes, England said.

The goal is to connect what happens in the atmosphere to what happens at the edge of space, and to help understand the disturbances that can lead to severe interference with communications and GPS signals.

“The ionosphere doesn’t only react to energy input by solar storms,” England said. “Terrestrial weather, like hurricanes and wind patterns, can shape the atmosphere and ionosphere, changing how they react to space weather.

ICON, a NASA Explorer mission led by UC Berkeley, will observe multiple wavelengths of light to study different aspects of the ionosphere and upper atmosphere

Image courtesy of NASA GSFC/CIL/UC Berkeley.

“We will be using these two missions together to understand how dynamic weather systems are reflected in the upper atmosphere, and how these changes impact the ionosphere.”

England discussed the upcoming ICON and GOLD missions, both Explorer-class missions managed by the NASA Goddard Spaceflight Center in Maryland, during the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.