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ICON, or the explorer of ionospheric connections, will capture a view closer to the upper atmosphere itself, 350 miles above the Earth. ICON can also directly measure particles and their movement. It will work in the middle of bright colored bands called airglow.
Airglow, which creates bands or red and green or purple and yellow light, occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere release an excess of energy because they receive a lot of sunlight in this region.
Unlike the aurora, the light is constant because of the daily radiation, forming a light bubble around the Earth.
But it can only be seen if you turn around the Earth with the International Space Station or if you use a sensitive camera from the ground on a clear day.
"Each atmospheric gas has its favorite color, depending on the gas, the elevation region and the process of excitation.You can therefore use airglow to study different layers of the atmosphere," said Doug Rowland , astrophysicist at Goddard Space Flight Center at NASA. A declaration. "We do not study the air as such, but we use it as a diagnosis."
GOLD examines the response of the upper atmosphere to the forces of the sun, the magnetosphere, and the lower atmosphere. Learn more about the ionosphere – a part of the Earth's upper atmosphere where solar radiation collides with a gas that breaks down into electrons and ions – is essential. This dynamic environment is constantly evolving and could easily jam radio signals from our atmosphere.
This combined view of both global and fine ICON and GOLD will provide scientists with unique perspectives and a more complete picture of "our interface with space", said the agency.
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