MRI: Acquisition of a state-of-the-art Fabry-Perot interferometer to measure upper atmosphere winds and temperatures for He, OH, and O nightglow and auroral emissions

Understanding and predicting thermospheric winds and temperatures during all conditions of space weather activity is important in the determination of satellite drag. The system proposed herein will yield unprecedented measurements of winds and temperatures beyond that which are currently available, leading to transformational changes in the understanding of not only satellite drag, but of a myriad of outstanding questions in the space sciences. The wind measurements have societal significance as they are important for space weather research and global circulation models to understand and predict space weather. Deployment, operation, and analysis of the data from this proposed system will enable undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate opportunities in contemporary STEM topics, ranging from instrumentation advancement to Big Data and beyond. The project has good potential for high impact. The project aims to measure winds and temperature in the thermosphere through an acquisition of a Fabry-Perot interferometer with high sensitivity that will enable the measurements of very weak airglow emissions in the MLT region. Large thermospheric vertical winds are inconsistent with what the application of the mass continuity equation would predict using the horizontal divergence of the observed wind field. The measurements needed to resolve the discrepancy are nonexistent, thus highlighting the compelling need for advancement in the current remote sensing technologies. The observing system will yield unprecedented measurements of winds and temperatures beyond that which are currently available, leading to transformational changes in the space sciences. The added benefit is the portability of the Fabry-Perot system thus enabling collaborative studies.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.