GOLD - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

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GOLD

Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk Program

Imaging the boundary between Earth and space

The Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission is a NASA Mission of Opportunity that fills a critical gap in our knowledge of Sun-Earth connections. It is examining the response of the upper atmosphere to forcing from the Sun, the magnetosphere, and the lower atmosphere. GOLD provides unprecedented imaging of Earth’s upper atmosphere from geostationary orbit to study the weather of the thermosphere-ionosphere. It has made breakthrough measurements of temperature and composition that are important for satellite drag and ionospheric disruptions of communication and navigation.

Mission Class:

Larger Missions

Mission Status:

Current

LASP Roles:

Research, Instruments, Data, Lead Institute

Science Target:

Earth's Atmosphere

Mission Focus:

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

Primary Mission Site:

https://gold.cs.ucf.edu

Launch Date: January 25, 2018
Prime Mission: 2 years
Extended Mission: 2024

Lead Institution: LASP

Lead Funding Agency: NASA Heliophysics Mission of Opportunity

Partners: University of Central Florida, National Center for Atmospheric Research, SES Government Solutions, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, University of California, Berkeley, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Computational Physics, Inc

GOLD, is a NASA mission of opportunity that measures densities and temperatures in Earth’s thermosphere and ionosphere. GOLD makes these measurements, in unprecedented detail, with an ultraviolet (UV) imaging spectrograph on a geostationary satellite.

The goal of the investigation is to provide answers to key elements of an overarching question for Heliophysics science: What is the global-scale response of the thermosphere and ionosphere to forcing in the integrated Sun-Earth system?

The measurements from GOLD will be used, in conjunction with advanced models of the thermosphere and ionosphere, to revolutionize our understanding of the space environment.

GOLD science Objectives:

Determine how geomagnetic storms alter the temperature and composition of Earth’s thermosphere
Analyze the global-scale response of the thermosphere to solar extreme-ultraviolet variability
Investigate the significance of atmospheric waves and tides propagating from below on the temperature structure of the thermosphere
Resolve how the structure of the equatorial ionosphere influences the formation and evolution of equatorial plasma density
irregularities