{ "id": 20265, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20265/", "page_type": "Animation", "title": "ICON Beauty Pass", "description": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL || AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [87.7 KB] || AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_web.png (320x180) [74.1 KB] || AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_searchweb.png (180x320) [74.1 KB] || AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_thm.png (80x40) [6.0 KB] || AirGlow_final_H264.mov (1920x1080) [19.5 MB] || 1920x1080_16x9_60p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || AirGlow_final_ProRes.webm (1920x1080) [1.0 MB] || AirGlow_final_ProRes.mov (1920x1080) [304.3 MB] || ", "release_date": "2017-04-03T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:47:47.482345-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 415357, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 }, "main_video": null, "main_credits": { "Visualizations by": [ { "name": "Chris Meaney", "employer": "KBR Wyle Services, LLC" } ] }, "progress": "Complete", "media_groups": [ { "id": 330750, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20265/#media_group_330750", "widget": "Video player", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL

", "items": [ { "id": 260050, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 415357, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 260046, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 415360, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_web.png", "filename": "AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_web.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 260051, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 415358, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_searchweb.png", "filename": "AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_searchweb.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 180, "height": 320, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 260052, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 415359, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_thm.png", "filename": "AirGlow_final_ProRes.00001_thm.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 80, "height": 40, "pixels": 3200 } }, { "id": 260047, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 415354, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/AirGlow_final_ProRes.mov", "filename": "AirGlow_final_ProRes.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 260048, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 415355, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/AirGlow_final_H264.mov", "filename": "AirGlow_final_H264.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 260049, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 415356, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/frames/1920x1080_16x9_60p/", "filename": "1920x1080_16x9_60p", "media_type": "Frames", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 260053, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 415353, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a020000/a020200/a020265/AirGlow_final_ProRes.webm", "filename": "AirGlow_final_ProRes.webm", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Beauty pass showing ICON observing the ionosphere. Credit: NASA/GSFC/CIL", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 330749, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/20265/#media_group_330749", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "The Ionospheric Connection Explorer will study the frontier of space: the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above. In this region, the tenuous gases are anything but quiet, as a mix of neutral and charged particles travel through in giant winds. These winds can change on a wide variety of time scales -- due to Earth's seasons, the day's heating and cooling, and incoming bursts of radiation from the sun.

This region of space and its changes have practical repercussions, given our ever-increasing reliance on technology -- this is the area through which radio communications and GPS signals travel. Variations there can result in distortions or even complete disruption of signals. In order to understand this complicated region of near-Earth space, called the ionosphere, NASA has developed the ICON mission. To understand what drives variability in the ionosphere requires a careful look at a complicated system that is driven by both terrestrial and space weather.
ICON will help determine the physics of our space environment and pave the way for mitigating its effects on our technology, communications systems and society.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} } ], "studio": "cil", "funding_sources": [ "PAO" ], "credits": [ { "role": "Animator", "people": [ { "name": "Chris Meaney", "employer": "KBR Wyle Services, LLC" }, { "name": "Walt Feimer", "employer": "KBR Wyle Services, LLC" } ] }, { "role": "Technical support", "people": [ { "name": "Aaron E. Lepsch", "employer": "ADNET Systems, Inc." } ] } ], "missions": [ "Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON)" ], "series": [ "Interface to Space" ], "tapes": [], "papers": [], "datasets": [], "nasa_science_categories": [ "Earth", "Sun" ], "keywords": [ "Airglow", "Atmosphere", "Atmospheric Radiation", "Earth Science", "Gold", "Icon", "interface region", "Interface to Space", "Ionosphere/Magnetosphere Dynamics", "Sun-earth Interactions" ], "recommended_pages": [], "related": [ { "id": 14025, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14025/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Strong Winds Power Electric Fields in the Upper Atmosphere", "description": "Using observations from NASA’s ICON mission, scientists presented the first direct measurements of Earth’s long-theorized dynamo on the edge of space: a wind-driven electrical generator that spans the globe 60-plus miles above our heads. The dynamo churns in the ionosphere, the electrically charged boundary between Earth and space. It’s powered by tidal winds in the upper atmosphere that are faster than most hurricanes and rise from the lower atmosphere, creating an electrical environment that can affect satellites and technology on Earth. The new work, published today in Nature Geoscience, improves our understanding of the ionosphere, which helps scientists better predict space weather and protect our technology from its effects.More information: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2021/strong-winds-power-electric-fields-in-upper-atmosphere-icon/ || ", "release_date": "2021-11-29T11:00:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:43:42.296608-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 374708, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014000/a014025/14025_ICON_Tides.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "14025_ICON_Tides.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ANIMATIONOne source of atmospheric tides is created above rainforest regions around Earth’s equator such as the Amazon rainforest. In this region, daily cycles of cloud formation put energy into the atmosphere that, in turn, create a daily cycle of heating and cooling.The heating and cooling pushes wind patterns out and towards regions where clouds are forming. These winds eventually form an atmospheric tide that propagates up through the atmosphere.At 60-95 miles above the ground, winds associated with atmospheric tides (white arrows) move the chunky, charged ions and separate them from the small, negatively charged electrons, forming an electric field (blue line) in the dynamo region, near the bottom of the ionosphere.The electric field permeates through the upper atmosphere and pushes plasma (pink) upwards and downwards like a fountain at 370 miles above Earth’s surface.Credit: NASA's Conceptual Animation Lab", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 13106, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13106/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Tour the Plane Giving NASA’s ICON a Ride to Space", "description": "Early in the morning of Nov. 7, 2018, NASA launches the Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, a spacecraft that will explore the dynamic region where Earth meets space. ICON launches on a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which is carried aloft by the Stargazer L-1011 aircraft.Join NASA on a behind-the-scenes tour of this plane, once a jet airliner and now uniquely retrofitted to boost spacecraft into low-Earth orbit. Learn about ICON’s science and meet the people — including an engineer, technician, and pilot — who will help launch the spacecraft into orbit.Learn more at: nasa.gov/icon || ", "release_date": "2018-11-06T03:30:00-05:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:46:18.183282-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 399329, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013100/a013106/L1011PlaneTour_Final.00403_print.jpg", "filename": "L1011PlaneTour_Final.00403_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Complete transcript available.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 12902, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12902/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "The Secrets behind Earth’s Multi-colored Glow", "description": "What does our planet look like from space? Most are familiar with the beloved images of the blue marble or pale blue dot — Earth from 18,000 and 3.7 billion miles away, respectively. But closer to home, within the nearest region of space, you might encounter an unfamiliar sight. If you peer down on Earth from just 300 miles above the surface, near the orbit of the International Space Station, you can see vibrant swaths of red and green or purple and yellow light emanating from the upper atmosphere. This is airglow. Airglow occurs when atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, excited by sunlight, emit light in order to shed their excess energy. Or, it can happen when atoms and molecules that have been ionized by sunlight collide with and capture a free electron. In both cases, they eject a particle of light — called a photon — in order to relax again. The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is energized by day-to-day solar radiation. || ", "release_date": "2018-10-22T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:46:19.257214-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 405598, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012902/12902_Airglow_VX-919658_large.00320_print.jpg", "filename": "12902_Airglow_VX-919658_large.00320_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Music: \"Nature Daydream\" by Laurent Dury [SACEM], \"Grape Picking\" by Laurent Dury [SACEM] from Killer TracksComplete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 12974, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12974/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "ICON's Launch Site", "description": "The Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, will study the frontier of space: the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where Earth weather and space weather meet. In fall 2018, the mission launches on an Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK) Pegasus XL rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. || ", "release_date": "2018-10-21T12:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:46:19.384082-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 403195, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012974/CapeCanaveralAirForceStationnolabels.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "CapeCanaveralAirForceStationnolabels.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "An animation zooming into ICON's launch site at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cap Canaveral, Florida with no location labels.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 12971, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12971/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Unboxing a New NASA Spacecraft", "description": "Go behind the scenes as we unbox NASA’s Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, after its arrival at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Northrop Grumman engineer Steve Turek and NASA EDGE’s Chris Giersch walk us through the whole process of unboxing a spacecraft – from the instrument that records every tiny bump on its journey to the special crane used to lift the spacecraft to its new home.ICON launches in fall 2018 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to study Earth’s interface to space. Read more about the ICON mission: nasa.gov/icon || ", "release_date": "2018-10-19T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:46:19.698285-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 403264, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012971/ICONArrivalandUnboxingBroll.01193_print.jpg", "filename": "ICONArrivalandUnboxingBroll.01193_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "B-roll ICON being unboxed and lifted at Vandenberg Air Force Base.Credit: Cory Huston/NASA KSC", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 13096, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13096/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "ICON Pre-Launch Live Shots", "description": "B-roll and canned interviews will be added on Wednesday, Oct 24 by 6:00pm || ICON_WebBanner_2018.jpg (3792x597) [550.7 KB] || ICON_WebBanner_2018_print.jpg (1024x161) [101.5 KB] || ICON_WebBanner_2018_searchweb.png (320x180) [119.7 KB] || ICON_WebBanner_2018_thm.png (80x40) [6.5 KB] || ", "release_date": "2018-10-18T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:46:19.769172-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 399589, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013000/a013096/ICON_WebBanner_2018_print.jpg", "filename": "ICON_WebBanner_2018_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "B-roll and canned interviews will be added on Wednesday, Oct 24 by 6:00pm", "width": 1024, "height": 161, "pixels": 164864 } }, { "id": 12910, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12910/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "ICON Launch Sequence", "description": "The Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, will study the frontier of space: the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where Earth weather and space weather meet. In fall 2018, the mission launches on an Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK) Pegasus XL rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. || ", "release_date": "2018-06-02T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:46:44.393478-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 405325, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a012900/a012910/Pegasus_H264_.00001_print.jpg", "filename": "Pegasus_H264_.00001_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Animated depiction of ICON's launch from a Northrop Grumman (formerly Orbital ATK) Pegasus XL rocketCredit: NASA GSFC/CIL/Josh Masters", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 4594, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4594/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "ICON Scans the Ionosphere", "description": "ICON orbits Earth at 575 kilometers altitude, measuring the composition and motions of the ionosphere. || IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.clockSlate_CRTT.HD1080i.000870_print.jpg (1024x576) [105.7 KB] || IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.clockSlate_CRTT.HD1080i.000870_searchweb.png (320x180) [63.8 KB] || IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.clockSlate_CRTT.HD1080i.000870_thm.png (80x40) [5.0 KB] || 1920x1080_16x9_30p (1920x1080) [0 Item(s)] || IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.HD1080i_p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [76.4 MB] || IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.HD1080i_p30.webm (1920x1080) [10.9 MB] || 3840x2160_16x9_30p (3840x2160) [0 Item(s)] || IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.UHD3840_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [217.4 MB] || IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.HD1080i_p30.mp4.hwshow [210 bytes] || ", "release_date": "2017-10-31T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2025-03-10T00:07:07.530395-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 410018, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004500/a004594/IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.clockSlate_CRTT.HD1080i.000870_print.jpg", "filename": "IRIDaily.limbwICON_OionHwindIGRF.clockSlate_CRTT.HD1080i.000870_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "ICON orbits Earth at 575 kilometers altitude, measuring the composition and motions of the ionosphere.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [], "newer_versions": [], "older_versions": [], "alternate_versions": [] }