Building on Decades of Research

The AWE team, led by Principal Investigator Dr. Michael Taylor of Utah State University (USU), has decades of combined experience studying AGWs and their importance in connecting terrestrial and space weather systems. Before AWE, the team performed gravity waves research on over 20 ground and air campaigns using predecessors to the AWE instrument.
Researchers and a cargo plane preparing to leave the snow-covered South Pole after instrument servicing.
USU graduate student Jonathan Pugmire preparing to leave the South Pole station after an instrument servicing visit in January 2013. (Credit: USU)

AWE Predecessor Missions

MTM

A CCD-based instrument, the Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (MTM), enabled measurement of mesospheric temperature over a large region of the sky, with spatial and temporal resolutions enabling the study of small-scale gravity waves.

A timeline chart listing the locations of each campaign's observatory and the timeframe of research.
A graphic depiction of Earth's continents with yellow pins marking each research campaign's points of observation.

Ground-Based AMTM 1, 2 & 3

The AMTM was explicitly designed for high-latitude and high-resolution research. The instrument is approximately six times faster than the previous-generation instrument, with approximately four times improvement in spatial resolution.

A timeline chart listing the locations of each campaign's observatory and the timeframe of research.
A graphic depiction of Earth's continents with yellow pins marking each research campaign's points of observation.

Airborne/Ground-Based AMTM

The AMTM was specifically designed to operate onboard the National Science Foundation (NSF) Gulfstream V aircraft as part of the NSF DEEPWAVE project in New Zealand. The front end of the AMTM optical system was modified to match the space and field of view available through the Gulfstream V window.

A timeline chart listing the locations of each campaign's observatory and the timeframe of research.
A graphic depiction of Earth's continents with yellow pins marking each research campaign's points of observation.

Transitioning from Ground to Space

AWE is building on a strong foundation of over 20 successful ground- and aircraft-based campaigns by going to a space-based platform. Studying AGWs at the edge of space, AWE will achieve global coverage and enable new discoveries about how these waves affect our upper atmosphere.

A motion graphic from polar view depicting the ISS circling Earth and imaging atmospheric gravity waves.

Upper Atmospheric Study

Space-based observations offer the opportunity to delineate AGW activity and their effects on a global scale.

A motion graphic depicting atmospheric gravity waves around Earth from its obliquity angle.

Global Coverage

From the ISS, AMTM images will cover latitudes 53° S to 53° N over all longitudes about every four days, enabling maps of AGW characteristics to be produced at this cadence.

A motion graphic depicting Earth, its tilt, and seasons.

Seasonal & Regional Operations

Long-term operations will enable observations of AGW responses to seasonal-dependent sources (i.e., convection, orographic) in both hemispheres and from year to year.

Atmospheric Waves Experiment
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The material is based upon work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Contract Number 80GSFC18C0007.

Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.