AtmoCube A1: airglow measurements in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere by spatial heterodyne interferometry

Abstract

AtmoCube A1: airglow measurements in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere by spatial heterodyne interferometry," Abstract. Center Juelich developed a CubeSat payload for atmospheric research. The payload consists of a small interferometer for the observation of airglow near 762 nm. The line intensities of the oxygen A-band are used to derive temperatures in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere region. The temperature data will be used to analyze dynamical wave structures in the atmosphere. The interferometer technology chosen to measure the ro-vibrational structure of the O 2 atmospheric band near 762 nm is a spatial heterodyne interferometer originally proposed by Connes in 1958. It can be designed to deliver extraordinary spectral resolution to resolve individual emission lines. The utilization of a two-dimensional imaging detector allows for recording interferograms at adjacent locations simultaneously. Integrated in a six-unit CubeSat, the instrument is designed for limb sounding of the atmosphere. The agility of a CubeSat will be used to sweep the line-of-sight through specific regions of interest to derive a three-dimensional image of an atmospheric volume using tomographic reconstruction techniques. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Optical design and straylight analyses of a spatial heterodyne interferometer for the measurement of atmospheric temperature from space

“…The instrument described in this article is an advancement of the one described previously. 7,8 It uses an SHI to measure atmospheric O 2 A-band emissions at 762 nm in limb viewing geometry from a microsatellite. The rotational structure of that emission is used to obtain temperatures in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere.…”

On the assembly and calibration of a spatial heterodyne interferometer for limb sounding of the middle atmosphere

“…As a broad guide, a 1 K temperature change affects spectral intensity ratios by 1% [17]. Typical integration times to obtain an entire altitude profile of temperature are in the order of 1 s for daytime and 20 s for nighttime conditions for an instrument of a volume of 3 l. A concept for such an instrument compatible with a 6-unit CubeSat was recently presented by Kaufmann et al [17], Olschewski et al [21] and references cited therein.…”