The IIAS Aeronomy Program provides a practical education for the professional interested in upper-atmospheric research from research aircraft, high-altitude balloons, and suborbital spacecraft. Emphasis is on the study of noctilucent clouds from research aircraft and on the design of instrumentation for mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT) research. This program has been co-developed by the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, Columbia University, GATS, Inc., and Integrated Spaceflight Services.
Areas of Study
Airborne Remote Sensing of Noctilucent Clouds
Airborne imagery and remote sensing of noctilucent cloud structures are performed from High Level, Alberta using research aircraft. Individual sorties have been designed to compensate for solar motion and synchronize with the AIM satellite, which observes noctilucent cloud structures from space, and with terrestrial observation sites to facilitate tomographic reconstruction. These images are used to test the low-latitude thresholds of space-based imagery and qualify instrumentation for high-altitude balloon and suborbital spacecraft missions.
High-Altitude Balloon Imaging of Noctilucent Clouds
Together with GATS and Columbia University, IIAS developed and tested camera systems for flight on NASA’s high-altitude balloons (e.g. PMC-Turbo) to study atmospheric dynamics that can only be viewed in exquisite detail through very high resolution imagery techniques. IIAS was engaged in the instrument development, testing, and educational outreach effort. Today, IIAS leverages this experience with the University of Alaska Fairbanks to coordinate short-duration balloon flights with ground-based LIDAR observations.
Crewed Suborbital Tomography of Noctilucent Clouds
The PoSSUMCam system has been designed to obtain high-resolution imagery of noctilucent cloud micro-features as suborbital spacecraft pass through the cloud layer, much like an MRI creates 3D representations of the human body. These images will be used to build extremely high-resolution models of the small-scale structures of noctilucent cloud layers through modeling algorithms developed for the program. These structures have been difficult to resolve from previous means of observation from space-based or ground-based imagers but are believed to contain most of the information pertaining to energy and momentum deposition in the upper atmosphere.
The Graduate Certificate in Aeronomy
The IIAS Professional Credential in Aeronomy is a 16-credit certification designed for the student or professional interested in a career in human space flight involving upper-atmospheric research. The credential assumes an understanding of mathematics up to differential equations and familiarization with coding and modeling platforms. Prospective applicants must have successfully competed the requirements for AST 101 (Fundamentals of Astronautics). Upon completion of the prescribed courses, the candidate should petition for graduation through the link below.
Requirements for the IIAS Aeronomy Certificate
| Course | Credits | |
|---|---|---|
| AST 101 | Fundamentals of Astronautics | 3 |
| EDU 101 | Citizen-Science Research Methods | 3 |
| AER 101 | Suborbital Space Environment | 3 |
| AER 102 | Remote Sensing | 3 |
| AER 103 | Airborne Imagery of Noctilucent Clouds | 3 |
| AST 198 | Independent Study | 2 |
NOTE: Candidates for the IIAS Aeronomy Program first need to be accepted into AST 101. PLEASE APPLY HERE
