Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) is a project led by the
European Space Agency to place cameras and
X-ray
An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...
/
γ-ray detectors on the
International Space Station
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ( ...
to observe the
upper atmosphere Upper atmosphere is a collective term that refers to various layers of the atmosphere of the Earth above the troposphere and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, and includes:
* The mesosphere, which on Earth lies between th ...
in order to study
sprites, jets and elves and
terrestrial gamma-ray flash
A terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), also known as dark lightning, is a burst of gamma rays produced in Earth's atmosphere. TGFs have been recorded to last 0.2 to 3.5 milliseconds, and have energies of up to 20 million electronvolts. It is spec ...
es in connection with
thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are some ...
s. It is hoped that measurements of these phenomena from space will contribute to the understanding of Earth's upper atmosphere.
The ASIM components, originally planned to be completed in 2014,
were launched on 2 April 2018 and mounted on the
''Columbus'' External Payload Facility on 13 April 2018.
Danish tech company
Terma A/S
Terma A/S is a Danish weapon and aerospace manufacturer for both civilian and military applications, and is owned by the Danish company Thrige Holding A/S. It is Denmark's largest company within the aerospace and weapon industry, employing appro ...
is running the technical part of the project for ESA and
DTU Space
The National Space Institute at the Technical University of Denmark, also known as DTU Space ( da, Institut for Rumforskning og Rumteknologi), is a Danish sector research institute and a part of the Technical University of Denmark. It has a sta ...
(''National Space Institute'') from the
Technical University of Denmark
The Technical University of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet), often simply referred to as DTU, is a polytechnic university and school of engineering. It was founded in 1829 at the initiative of Hans Christian Ørsted as Denmark's fir ...
provides the scientific leadership of the project. Mission operations will be performed by the
Belgian User Support and Operations Centre (B.USOC) in
Uccle
Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city an ...
, Belgium.
Some results from the measurements were published in July 2019.
Instruments
The ASIM payload has a mass of and consists of sub-systems CEPA and DHPU, and two scientific instruments called MXGS and MMIA:
* The ''Columbus'' External Payload Adapter (CEPA) and Data Handling and Power Unit (DHPU) form the structural and electrical connections, respectively, to the
''Columbus'' module.
* The Modular X and Gamma Ray Instrument (MXGS) is a pair of
terrestrial gamma-ray flash
A terrestrial gamma-ray flash (TGF), also known as dark lightning, is a burst of gamma rays produced in Earth's atmosphere. TGFs have been recorded to last 0.2 to 3.5 milliseconds, and have energies of up to 20 million electronvolts. It is spec ...
(TGF) detectors. The low-energy detector is sensitive from 15
keV Kev can refer to:
Given name
* Kev Adams, French comedian, actor, screenwriter and film producer born Kevin Smadja in 1991
* Kevin Kev Carmody (born 1946), Indigenous Australian singer-songwriter
* Kev Coghlan (born 1988), Scottish Grand Prix moto ...
to 400 keV, and the high-energy detector is sensitive from 200 keV to 40 MeV.
* The Modular Multi-Imaging Assembly (MMIA) is an optical imaging system capable of observing 12 frames per second continuously in the 777.4 nm and 337 nm bands at 5 nm wide intervals.
See also
*
European contribution to the International Space Station
The European contribution to the International Space Station comes from 10 members of the European Space Agency (ESA) and amounts to an 8% share in the programme. It consists of a number of modules (primarily the ''Columbus'' laboratory) in ...
*
Scientific research on the International Space Station
The International Space Station is a platform for scientific research that requires one or more of the unusual conditions present in low Earth orbit (for example microgravity, ( cosmic) - radiation and extreme temperatures). The primary field ...
*
Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor
The Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor (S.A.M.) is a highly compact gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, GCMS) instrument built by JPL that is a technology demonstration on the International Space Station for moni ...
References
External links
ASIM.dkASIM webpageat the European Space Agency's Human Spaceflight Research portal
ASIM webpageby
Terma A/S
Terma A/S is a Danish weapon and aerospace manufacturer for both civilian and military applications, and is owned by the Danish company Thrige Holding A/S. It is Denmark's largest company within the aerospace and weapon industry, employing appro ...
ASIM webpageat NASA's Space Station Research & Technology portal
Spacecraft instruments
International Space Station experiments
Satellite meteorology
2018 in spaceflight
Piggyback mission
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