Advancing Low Latitude Aeronomy with the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) Mission
Abstract
The GOLD mission of opportunity will fly a far ultraviolet imaging spectrograph in geostationary (GEO) orbit as a hosted payload. The mission is scheduled for launch in late 2017 on SES-14, a commercial communications satellite that will be stationed over eastern South America at 47.5 degrees west longitude. Consequently, observations from the GOLD imager will coincide with those made from Low Earth Orbit from the Ionospheric CONnection (ICON) satellite when it crosses over South America. The spectral resolution and the signal-to-noise at which the GOLD imager observes will allow derivation of fundamental information about the Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere: density ratios (O/N2) and neutral temperatures in the lower thermosphere; exospheric temperatures; peak electron densities and O2 densities. density ratios (O/N2), neutral temperature, peak electron density and O2 density. These data will provide the first simultaneous, high-cadence images of fundamental parameters for understanding the T-I system and the system's response to the forcing from below as well as from above by solar and geomagnetic forcing. This presentation will summarize the current status of the GOLD mission and the modeling being conducted for it.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFMSA11A..02E
- Keywords:
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- 3369 Thermospheric dynamics;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSESDE: 2427 Ionosphere/atmosphere interactions;
- IONOSPHEREDE: 2494 Instruments and techniques;
- IONOSPHERE