TIMED

Updated on Sep 19, 2024

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Operator NASA SATCAT no. 26998 Launch date 7 December 2001 Launch mass 660 kg Epoch 26 June 2016		COSPAR ID 2001-055B Website TIMED at APL Period 1.6 hours Cost 237 million USD

Mission type IonosphereAtmospheric scienceSpace weather research. Mission duration 2 years (planned)15+ years (ongoing) Manufacturer Applied Physics Laboratory Similar Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, Solar Radiation and Clim, Solar Maximum Mission, Upper Atmosphere Research, Space Technology 5

timed exploring earth s atmosphere lecture

The TIMED (Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics) is an orbiter mission dedicated to study the dynamics of the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) portion of the Earth's atmosphere. The mission was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on December 7, 2001 aboard a Delta II rocket launch vehicle. The project is sponsored and managed by NASA, while the spacecraft was designed and assembled by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. The mission has been extended several times, and has now collected data over an entire solar cycle, which helps in its goal to differentiate the Sun's effects on the atmosphere from other effects.

TIMED APLled atmospheric mission extended for fourth time Johns Hopkins

Atmospheric region under study

The Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) region of the atmosphere to be studied by TIMED is located between 60–180 km above the Earth's surface where energy from solar radiation is first deposited into the atmosphere. This can have profound effects on Earth's upper atmospheric regions, particularly during the peak of the Sun's 11-year solar cycle when the greatest amounts of its energy are being released. Understanding these interactions is also important for our understanding of various subjects in geophysics, meteorology, and atmospheric science, as solar radiation is one of the primary driving forces behind atmospheric tides. Changes in the MLT can also affect modern satellite and radio telecommunications.

Scientific instruments onboard

The spacecraft payload consists of the following four main instruments:

TIMED Solar Connections Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics

Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI): A spatial-scanning, far-ultraviolet spectrograph designed to globally measure the composition and temperature profiles of the MLT region, as well as its auroral energy inputs.

Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Experiment (SEE): A spectrometer and a suite of photometers designed to measure the solar soft X-rays, extreme-ultraviolet and far-ultraviolet radiation that is deposited into the MLT region.

TIMED Doppler Interferometer (TIDI): Designed to globally measure the wind and temperature profiles of the MLT region.

Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry (SABER): Multichannel radiometer designed to measure heat emitted by the atmosphere over a broad altitude and spectral range, as well as global temperature profiles and sources of atmospheric cooling.