Rocket Measurements of Mesospheric and Lower Thermospheric Compositions
Document ID: 6
Philbrick, C. Russell
Faucher, Gerard A.
Trzcinski, E.
USAF, Cambridge Research Laboratories, Hanscom AFB, Bedford, MA, U.S.A.
Presented: Proceedings of Open Meetings of Working Groups on Physical Sciences of the Fifteenth Plenary Meeting of COSPAR
Madrid, Spain, 10-24 May, 1972
Abstract
Measurements of the major and some of the minor neutral atmospheric species have been obtained from 6 rocket flights in the 65-120 km altitude region. The instruments were launched on 7 March 1970 (solar eclipse), 20 November 1970 (X = 98°), 5 October 1971 (Χ = 90° and Χ = 115°) and 12 April 1972 (2000 and 2016 LST). The instrument used to obtain these measurements is a recently developed RF quadrupole mass spectrometer which employs a liquid nitrogen cooled cryosorption pump. The species measured include N2, O, O2, Ar, CO2, O3, and other minor constituents. The instrument uses two ionizing energies on alternate one-second spectral scans. The lower ionizing energy of about 20 eV allows extension of the atomic oxygen measurement down to about 85 km. Profiles of the individual constituents obtained from the 20 November flight are presented and comparison is made with the results of one of the flights on 5 October 1971. The individual atomic oxygen profiles exhibit variations in the 85-120 km region which show strong effects from dynamic and transport processes in this region.
Keywords: NACS (Neutral Atmospheric Composition Spectrometer), mesosphere, mass spectrometer data
| Citation: | "Rocket Measurements of Mesospheric and Lower Thermospheric Compositions", Philbrick, C. R., G. A. Faucher, E. Trzcinski, Space Research XIII, Vol. XIII, COSPAR (Committee on Space Research), 1973, pp. 255 - 260 |
Images
 | NACS Instrument |  | NACS Mass Spectrometer |