NASA’s launch of three rockets, including two with colorful vapor trails, could be visible across multiple mid-Atlantic states including New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York.
The launch window, which was delayed by Hurricane Erin last week, opens at 10 p.m. Monday and continues until 3 a.m. Tuesday at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The first two rockets will launch within one minute of each other, releasing colorful vapor tracers similar to compounds used in fireworks.
These tracers will allow scientists to photograph and map wind patterns in the upper atmosphere.
Approximately five minutes later, a third rocket carrying specialized lidar equipment will launch.
This rocket will use a laser tuned to excite sodium atoms naturally present in the atmosphere from meteor dust.
By causing this sodium layer to fluoresce, researchers can track atmospheric movements and measure density changes over time.
The Turbulent Oxygen Mixing Experiment Plus, TOMEX+, mission targets the mesopause, a critical boundary layer between Earth’s mesosphere and thermosphere located approximately 53 to 65 miles above Earth’s surface.
This region presents challenges for researchers as it’s too high for weather balloons but too low for satellites to study effectively.
“The mesopause is the coldest layer of our atmosphere,” according to information from NASA. Temperatures plunge to nearly minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit.
It’s where night-shining clouds form and where weather patterns from lower altitudes transfer energy into space, creating turbulence that can affect satellite operations.
Led by Jim Clemmons, a physics and astronomy professor at the University of New Hampshire, the TOMEX+ mission will use three sounding rockets in a coordinated sequence.
The mission builds upon a previous experiment from 2000, but with significant technological advancements.
Together, these instruments will provide “the clearest 3D view yet of turbulence at the edge of space,” potentially improving understanding of high-altitude cloud formation, satellite drag, and atmospheric processes on other planets, NASA said in the mission announcement.
While the Wallops Visitor Center won’t open for public viewing, NASA will provide a livestream beginning five minutes before launch on Youtube.
Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story, which was reviewed and edited by NJ Advance Media staff.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Source link
