NASA’s spacecraft launched to study night-shining cloud has now retired
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NASA has set eyes not only on the universe but also on our blue planet.
For the past 15 years, a spacecraft probed the elusive, shiny clouds that form in Earth’s mesosphere — the third layer of the atmosphere.
However, NASA announced in a statement on March 16 that the spacecraft's long run had come to an end. This mission, named Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, or AIM, was launched in 2007.
Battery issue caused the mission to end
NASA stated that the "spacecraft is no longer supporting operations after experiencing issues with its battery.”
The spacecraft began experiencing battery problems in 2019. Despite this, the team considered that the spacecraft was in good enough condition to return some data to Earth.
However, the spacecraft's battery conditions had recently deteriorated, and there was no way to repair them. It was unable to collect data or respond to commands from mission control. This eventually forced the AIM team to call it quits on the mission. Despite this, the spacecraft outperformed because it was only expected to operate for two years after launch.
The team will, however, continue to monitor the spacecraft's communication for at least two weeks. There may be a small window of opportunity for the spacecraft to reboot and transmit a signal.
A mission dedicated to mesospheric clouds
It orbited about 370 miles (595 kilometers) above Earth’s surface. AIM studied polar mesospheric clouds, also known as night-shining or noctilucent clouds, while in orbit. The clouds form around both the North and South Poles in late spring and early summer.
These clouds are composed of ice crystals and are the highest clouds found in the Earth's atmosphere. Because they are "sensitive indicators" of global climate change as well as solar/terrestrial influences, these clouds are of particular scientific interest.
The data collected aided scientists in understanding the causes and formation of these enigmatic clouds. The wealth of data led to the publication of 379 peer-reviewed scientific papers.
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