GDC - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

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GDC

Geospace Dynamics Constellation

First global measurements of Earth's upper atmosphere-magnetosphere coupling

The Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC), a multi-spacecraft constellation, will provide a platform for the coordinated and simultaneous measurements of both neutral gas and plasma needed to advance scientific understanding of the Earth’s coupled ionosphere-thermosphere system on a global scale. The mission, which is part of NASA’s Living With a Star program, will be a key step towards understanding the basic chemistry and physics of Earth’s upper atmosphere and its interaction with the magnetosphere. The mission will also give scientists new insights into space weather processes.

Mission Class:

Larger Missions

Mission Status:

Future

LASP Roles:

Research, Instruments, Data

Science Target:

Earth's Magnetosphere

Mission Focus:

Earth's Atmosphere, Ionosphere, Magnetosphere, Space Weather, Thermosphere

Launch Date: No earlier than September 2027

Lead Institution: NASA Heliophysics

Lead Funding Agency: NASA Living with a Star

Partners: Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department at the University of Colorado Boulder, Space Sciences Lab University of California Berkeley, University of Texas at Arlington, West Virginia University, Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF-U) Sweden, the EISCAT Scientific Association in Sweden, and LESIA-Observatory of Paris, France.

The Atmospheric Electrodynamics probe for THERmal plasma (AETHER), will measure electron density and temperature from a constellation of Earth-orbiting satellites as part of NASA’s Geospace Dynamics Constellation (GDC) mission. These measurements will be vital to GDC’s aim to understand the fundamental processes that govern the dynamic coupling between Earth’s magnetic field and our planet’s upper atmosphere.

AETHER draws on the heritage from two previous instrument designs: the Langmuir Probe and Waves instrument on the NASA Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission and the FIELDS Instrument Suite on the NASA Parker Solar Probe mission. The instrument will be used to support the mission’s overarching goal, which is to study how the upper atmosphere (ionosphere-thermosphere system) responds to energy inputs and drives global redistribution of mass, momentum, and energy.