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STATUS:
05.23.08
Spacecraft Status
All spacecraft systems on AIM continue to operate nominally. The majority of the Electronically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) patches are now loaded to the On-Board Computer. We also transitioned the spacecraft back to the Absolute Time Sequence (ATS) control which provides the best attitude control for science operations. We have had uplink receiver bitlock almost every day this week.
Instrument Status
SOFIE data processing continues without problems. Analysis of data for
the month of May is of particular interest because of the onset of the PMC season. The first SOFIE PMC of the NH 2008 season was observed on Saturday, May 24, 2008. Reviews were received for the three SOFIE papers submitted to the JASTP special issue, and the manuscript revisions are underway.
CIPS continues to provide excellent science data from all four cameras. Further, our analysis of on-orbit calibration data shows that camera sensitivity has changed less than 0.5% since launch. CIPS data sequencing automatically switched from the Southern to Northern Hemisphere on the first day of spring, as planned. Data from the 2007/2008 southern season is now released and ready for analysis.
CDE is on and collecting dust impact data following the completion of the Recovery ATS. Temperatures and voltages are nominal. CDE Version 2 data processing is being implemented for Levels 1 (Charge) and 2 (Mass).
AIM Selected for Extended Mission Funding
AIM has been selected for extended mission funding following the 2-year Explorer baseline mission. The extension from June 2009 through September 2012 will allow tracking the evolution of mesospheric clouds for an additional seven seasons and provide data to address key outstanding questions including:
- Are there variations in PMCs that can be explained by changes in solar irradiance and particle input?
- What changes in mesospheric properties are responsible for north/south differences in PMC features?
- What controls interannual variability in PMC season duration and latitudinal extent?
- What is the mechanism of teleconnection between winter temperatures and summer hemisphere PMC’s?
- What is the global occurrence rate of gravity waves outside the PMC domain?
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