Scientists have spent the end of January, 2013, getting a NASA sounding rocket mission ready for launch.

NASA's VISIONS sounding rocket mission (VISualizing Ion Outflow via Neutral atom imaging during a Substorm) is studying what makes the aurora, and how it affects Earth’s atmosphere.

The VISIONS instruments are shown here on the table as the team gets them ready for flight.

The principal investigator for VISIONS, Doug Rowland, who is a scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. is providing images while the team prepares for launch, which could be any night with a strong aurora between Feb 2. and Feb 17, 2013.

Rowland reports on Jan. 31 Jan 31, 2013:

Had a very good day at the range today. The team worked very hard to get the payload "staged" on the rail, and we got through the first turn-on test with everything connected together, including all four rocket motor stages. We are getting ready to finish testing and arming tomorrow, and working to ensure launch clearance for the start of our window. Weather is unpredictable, winds have been good, but the clouds and snow come and go. The aurora forecast is improving, with some solar activity headed our way Saturday and Sunday.

Credit: NASA/Goddard/D. Rowland

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To read more about the VISIONS mission go to: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/visions-aurora.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/visions-aurora.html</a>

VISIONS: Seeing the Aurora in a New Light

A team of NASA scientists arrived in Poker Flats, Alaska at the end of January, 2013. The team is patiently waiting for the exotic red and green glow of an aurora to illuminate the sky. Instead of simply admiring the view, this group from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center of Greenbelt, Md., and The Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, Calif. will launch a sounding rocket up through the Northern Lights. The rocket could launch as early as the night of Feb. 2, 2013, but the team has a two-week window in order to find the perfect launch conditions.

Armed with a series of instruments developed specifically for this mission, the VISIONS (VISualizing Ion Outflow via Neutral atom imaging during a Substorm) rocket will soar high through the arctic sky to study the auroral wind, which is a strong but intermittent stream of oxygen atoms from Earth’s atmosphere into outer space. The rocket will survive only fifteen minutes before splashing down in the Arctic Ocean, but the information it obtains will provide answers to some long-standing questions.

VISIONS is studying how oxygen atoms leave Earth’s atmosphere under the influence of the aurora. Most of the atmosphere is bound by Earth’s gravity, but a small portion of it gets heated enough by the aurora that it can break free, flowing outwards until it reaches near-Earth space. The atoms that form this wind initially travel at about 300 miles per hour -- only one percent of the speed needed to overcome gravity and leave Earth's atmosphere.

The principal investigator for VISIONS, Goddard's Doug Rowland is providing images while the team prepares for launch.

VISIONS is a partnership between NASA Goddard and the Aerospace Corporation of El Segundo, Calif. The sounding rocket motors and payload support systems are provided by NASA Wallops Flight Facility, including NSROC, the NASA Sounding Rocket Operations Contract. The Poker Flat Research Range is operated by the University of Alaska under contract to NASA.

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NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.

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