DYNamics Atmosphere GLObal-Connection (DYNAGLO)

Objectives: The DYNamics Atmosphere GLObal-Connection (DYNAGLO) mission will be the first of its kind, providing the community with global thermosphere GW measurements and their characteristics to be correlated with known GW sources (terrestrial and geomagnetic). Coupled with coincident measurements of aurora variability used as a proxy for when aurora generated GW occur, this comprehensive mission will help fill the thermosphere gap, inform the heliophysics community and constrain models. DYNAGLO’s mission science goal is to contribute to the fundamental understanding of how vertical coupling by atmospheric waves contribute to the energy and momentum balance in the thermosphere. DYNAGLO science questions are SQ #1: What spectrum of gravity waves are present in the thermosphere and to what extent are they driven by lower atmospheric sources of gravity waves? SQ #2: Is there a spectrum of thermosphere gravity waves that are correlated with magnetospheric activity? GOLD and ICON, are making strides to fill the gap but they do not observe at high latitudes. Specifically missing are direct global measurements of thermosphere GWs to help connect how the vertical and horizontal forcing mechanisms deposit energy and moment in this region of the atmosphere. DYNAGLO can fill this need by providing much needed 2D (latitude, longitude), full latitude coverage to provide the community global observations of thermosphere gravity waves. DYNAGLO’s coincident observations with ICON’s observations of wind directions and velocities (important to understanding propagation of GW) would dramatically increase the scientific payoff from both ICON and DYNAGLO. Methods: Utilizing two 6U CubeSats, flying in string of pearls formation, each with a Far Ultraviolet imager (FUVI), DYNAGLO will provide the science community with much needed 2D spatially resolved thermosphere GW detections along with detections of the aurora emission. FUVI is a small (2U) CubeSat sized instrument with the ability to image 2D (latitude, longitude) far-ultraviolet airglow emissions (135.6nm-168nm) from Earth’s lower thermosphere (near 150km). DYNAGLO’s measurement objective is to catalog the horizontal scales, frequency of occurrence, geographic location, phase speeds, and direction of propagation of GW that deposit energy into the middle thermosphere (120-200km) and correlate them with known terrestrial hot spots and possible generation from aurora activity. A single CubeSat will allow the determination of extent, geographic location, and classification of horizontal wavelengths. Two CubeSats provide phase speed and direction of propagation. DYNAGLO measurements will help fill the thermosphere gap, inform the heliophysics community and constrain models. DYNAGLO’s formulation phase was made feasible through LASP’s internal research development (IRD) investment Significance: The DYNAGLO mission is timely with NASA’s focus on the I-T system, anc complimentary to NASA’s recent mission targets of GDC and DYNAMIC. Vertical coupling between the atmosphere-IT is at the forefront of NASA’s sciences goals. DYNAGLO will address the 2014 NASA Strategic plan defined by goal #2: Determine the dynamics and coupling of Earth’s magnetosphere, ionosphere and atmosphere and their response to solar and terrestrial inputs. The importance of understanding how terrestrial weather propagates upward and influences the thermosphere-ionosphere is at the forefront of geospace sciences and appears prominently in the current NASA Science Plan, Heliophysics Roadmap, and the NRC Decadal Survey (DS). DYNAGLO’s GW measurements are synergistic with current and future lower altitude GW satellites measurements (AIRS, CIPS, AWE, VIIRS). DYNAGLO is relevant to the technology development aspect of H-FORT. Developing miniaturized FUV instruments like FUVI is a critical technological development needed for next generation Earth observatories.

Enabling lower cost innovative remote sensing instrument development from concept through breadboard and demonstration

This is a mature technology (TRL 7+) — the realistic path in is usually NASA's Technology Transfer Program: licensing an existing NASA patent, or a Space Act Agreement to use NASA facilities/expertise directly. NASA also runs a startup licensing program with no upfront fee for companies formed to commercialize a specific NASA technology.

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