VISIONS-2 Imagery
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Photographers
- Allison Stancil-Ervin (LJT & Associates)
- Chris Pirner (ADNET)
- Joy Ng (KBRwyle)
Related pages
VISIONS-2 Aurora Imagery
May 7th, 2019
Read moreAurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard on December 6, 2018. A GIF optimized for Twitter. Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard on December 6, 2018.Credit: NASA/Joy Ng Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard on December 4, 2018.Credit: NASA/Joy Ng Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard on December 7, 2018. The green laser in the distance is the Koldewey Aerosol Raman Lidar that measures tiny particles in Earth's atmosphere.Credit: NASA/Joy Ng The cusp aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. It's a type of aurora that appears only during the day. It looks similar to aurora at night but when these iridescent lights appear, a hundred tons of atmosphere escapes into space. Scientists say this is a natural process that will occur over billions of years. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner The cusp aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. It's a type of aurora that appears only during the day. It looks similar to aurora at night but when these iridescent lights appear, a hundred tons of atmosphere escapes into space. Scientists say this is a natural process that will occur over billions of years. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: Bin Li Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: Bin Li For More InformationSee [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/to-image-leaky-atmosphere-nasa-rocket-team-heads-north](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/to-image-leaky-atmosphere-nasa-rocket-team-heads-north) Related pages
Grand Challenge Initiative - Cusp: Launch Photos & Videos
April 9th, 2019
Read moreAZURE MissionColorful clouds formed by the release of vapors from the two AZURE rockets allow scientist to measure auroral winds.Credit: NASA/Lee Wingfield AZURE MissionOne of two Black Brant XI rockets leaves the launch pad at the Andøya Space Center in Norway for the AZURE mission. Credit: NASA/Lee Wingfield G-CHASER MissionG-CHASER launches from the Andøya Space Center in Norway.Credit: NASA/Chris Perry CAPER-2 MissionCAPER-2 launches from the Andøya Space Center.Credit: NASA/Chris Perry TRICE-2 MissionThe two TRICE-2 Black Brant XII sounding rockets are seen in this time-lapse photograph soaring into space over the Norwegian Sea.Credit: NASA/Jamie Adkins TRICE-2 MissionThis composite photo shows The Twin Rockets to Investigate Cusp Electrodynamics or TRICE-2 that were launched at 3:26 and 3:28 a.m. EST, Dec. 8, 2018, from the Andoya Space Center in Andenes, Norway. The motors firing on the sides of the first stages spin the rocket to assist in stabilization during flight. The mission is one of nine international missions through January 2020 called the Grand Challenge Initiative – Cusp.Credit: NASA/Jamie Adkins VISIONS-2 MissionTime-lapse photograph shows the first stages of the VISION-2 Black Brant X rockets as they leave the launch pad from Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in Norway.Credit: NASA/ Allison Stancil-Ervin VISIONS-2 MissionTime-lapse photograph shows the first and second stages of the 2 Black Brant X rockets for VISIONS-2 and the telemetry antennas in the foreground as the rockets leave the launch pad from Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in Norway.Credit: NASA/ Allison Stancil-Ervin. VISIONS-2 MissionOne of the two VISION-2 Black Brant X rockets breaks through its protective insulating foam box as it leaves the launch pad from Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in Norway.Credit: NASA/ Allison Stancil-Ervin For More InformationSee [NASA's Sounding Rockets](https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sounding-rockets/index.html) Related pages
Why NASA is sending rockets into Earth’s leaky atmosphere
Nov. 14th, 2019
Read moreWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.Music credits: “Journey to the Past”, “New Philosopher”, “Curiosity Cabinet”, “Buzzing Culture”, “Dusk Theories”, “At the Edge of the End” by Laurent Dury [SACEM]; “Strong Voices” by Tom Caffey [ASCAP]; “The Fortune Teller” by Phil Stevens [PRS]; “Shinobi’s Fight” by Benoit Malis [SACEM]; “Spring into Life” by Oliver Worth [PRS] In the tiny Arctic town of Ny-Ålesund, where polar bears outnumber people, winter means three months without sunlight. The unending darkness is ideal for those who seek a strange breed of northern lights, normally obscured by daylight. When these unusual auroras shine, Earth’s atmosphere leaks into space.NASA scientists traveled to Ny-Ålesund to launch rockets through these auroras and witness oxygen particles right in the middle of their escape. Piercing these fleeting auroras, some 300 miles high, would require strategy, patience — and a fair bit of luck. This was NASA’s VISIONS-2 mission, and this is their story.VISIONS-2 was just the first of many. Over the coming months, rocket teams from all over the world will launch rockets into this region as part of the Grand Challenge Initiative—Cusp, an international collaboration to study the mysteries of the polar atmosphere. For More InformationSee [Read more on The Sun Spot Blog](https://blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/2019/11/14/a-shot-in-the-dark-part-i/) Related pages