Sun ID: 12947

Launching an ICON

Story by Micheala Sosby | Visualizations by Mary P. Hrybyk-Keith and Tom Bridgman Released on October 22, 2018

Like Earth, space has weather. Except instead of swirling winds and downpours of precipitation, space weather is defined by shifting electric and magnetic fields and rains of charged particles. At the very beginning of space, starting just 60 miles above Earth’s surface and extending up about 300 miles more, a region of the atmosphere, called the ionosphere, shifts and changes in concert with both types of weather. The ionosphere is a part of Earth’s atmosphere where particles have been cooked into a sea of electrically charged electrons and ions by the Sun’s radiation. The ionosphere commingles with the very highest — and quite thin — layers of Earth’s neutral upper atmosphere. As a result, this region is constantly in flux, undergoing the push-and-pull between Earth’s conditions and those in space. NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, will enter Earth orbit in this transition region, which is home to astronauts and radio signals used to guide airplanes and ships, as well as satellites that provide our communications and GPS systems. ICON concentrates on how charged and neutral gases in the upper atmosphere behave and interact. Understanding the fundamental processes that govern their interactions is crucial to improve situational awareness that helps protect astronauts, spacecraft and the technology upon which our modern society relies. Watch the video to learn more.

350 miles above the surface, ICON observes the dynamic region where Earth's neutral atmosphere meets charged particles of the ionosphere.

ICON studies airglow, shining bands of green, red and ultraviolet light emitted when upper atmosphere gases are excited by solar radiation.

Source Material

For More Information

NASA.gov

Story Credits

Lead Visualizers/Animators:
Mary P. Hrybyk-Keith (TRAX International)
Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)

Lead Producer:
Genna Duberstein (USRA)

Lead Scientists:
Tom Immel (SSL Berkeley)
Douglas E. Rowland (NASA/GSFC)
Sarah L. Jones (NASA/GSFC)

Lead Writer:
Micheala Sosby (NASA/GSFC)

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio
Airglow image credit: NASA/JSC/ESRS

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12947

Missions:
Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON)
Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD)

Keywords:
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> App
NASA Science >> Sun
GCMD >> Earth Science >> Sun-earth Interactions >> Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Dynamics

GCMD keywords can be found on the Internet with the following citation: Olsen, L.M., G. Major, K. Shein, J. Scialdone, S. Ritz, T. Stevens, M. Morahan, A. Aleman, R. Vogel, S. Leicester, H. Weir, M. Meaux, S. Grebas, C.Solomon, M. Holland, T. Northcutt, R. A. Restrepo, R. Bilodeau, 2013. NASA/Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Earth Science Keywords. Version 8.0.0.0.0