CEOS EO HANDBOOK – MISSION SUMMARY
- AIM
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Full Name
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Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere
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Status
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Operational (extended)
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Mission Agencies
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NASA
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Launch Date
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25 Apr 2007
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Mission Links
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mission site
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EOL Date
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Dec 2025
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EO Portal Info
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NORAD Catalog #
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International Designator
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Orbit Type
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Sun-synchronous
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Orbit Period
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Orbit Sense
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N/A
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Orbit Inclination
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97.78 deg
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Orbit Altitude
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600 km
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Orbit Longitude
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Orbit LST
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Repeat Cycle
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Objectives and Applications
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AIM is a minisatellite mission within NASA's SMEX (Small Explorer) program designed to provide frequent, low-cost access to space for a variety of missions (the AIM mission was selected in July 2002 with final approval in May 2004). The objective of AIM is to study the causes of Earth's highest-altitude clouds, which occur on the very edge of space. These clouds, referred to as PMCs (Polar Mesospheric Clouds), form in the coldest part of the atmosphere, about 50-90 km above the polar regions, every summer
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Mission Measurements
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Mission Instruments
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