Nanosat Payload Instrumentation for Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Gravity Waves

The Remote Sensing Research Group led by Professor Swenson is developing a nanosat-scale photonic instrument for remote sensing of the atmosphere on a spacecraft experiment. Two possible launch opportunities are on a cubesat which is currently under development at UIUC, and as a student experiment on an Explorer-class NASA mission being proposed, called ICON. The instrument consists of a four-channel photometer for studying large atmospheric gravity waves (AGWs) in the mesopause region. The instrument will provide a measure of AGWs in the mesosphere/lower-thermosphere and allow the experiment to establish the geographic distribution of their activity. This talk will present the instrument design and the goals of this exciting student-developed experiment.