Mesospheric Bore Evolution and Instability Dynamics Observed in PMC Turbo Imaging and Rayleigh Lidar Profiling Over Northeastern Canada on 13 July 2018.

Two successive mesospheric bores were observed over northeastern Canada on 13 July 2018 in high-resolution imaging and Rayleigh lidar profiling of polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) performed aboard the PMC Turbo long-duration balloon experiment. Four wide field-of-view cameras spanning an area of ~75 × 150 km at PMC altitudes captured the two evolutions occurring over ~2 hr and resolved bore and associated instability features as small as ~100 m. The Rayleigh lidar provided PMC backscatter profiling that revealed vertical displacements, evolving brightness distributions, evidence of instability character and depths, and insights into bore formation, ducting, and dissipation. Both bores exhibited variable structure along their phases, suggesting variable gravity wave (GW) source and bore propagation conditions. Both bores also exhibited small-scale instability dynamics at their leading and trailing edges. Those at the leading edges comprised apparent Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities that were advected downward and rearward beneath the bore descending phases extending into an apparently intensified shear layer. Instabilities at the trailing edges exhibited alignments approximately orthogonal to the bore phases that resembled those seen to accompany GW breaking or intrusions arising in high-resolution modeling of GW instability dynamics. Collectively, PMC Turbo bore imaging and lidar profiling enabled enhanced definition of bore dynamics relative to what has been possible by previous ground-based observations, and a potential to guide new, three-dimensional modeling of bore dynamics. The observed bore evolutions suggest potentially important roles for bores in the deposition of energy and momentum transported into the mesosphere and to higher altitudes by high-frequency GWs achieving large amplitudes.

The PMC Turbo Balloon Mission to Measure Gravity Waves and Turbulence in Polar Mesospheric Clouds: Camera, Telemetry, and Software Performance.

The Polar Mesospheric Cloud Turbulence (PMC Turbo) instrument consists of a balloon-borne platform which hosts seven cameras and a Rayleigh lidar. During a 6-day flight in July 2018, the cameras captured images of Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs) with a sensitivity to spatial scales from ~20 m to 100 km at a ~2-s cadence and a full field of view (FOV) of hundreds of kilometers. We developed software optimized for imaging of PMCs, controlling multiple independent cameras, compressing and storing images, and for choosing telemetry communication channels. We give an overview of the PMC Turbo design focusing on the flight software and telemetry functions. We describe the performance of the system during its first flight in July 2018.

FIRE - Flyby of Io with Repeat Encounter: A conceptual design for a New Frontiers mission to Io.

A conceptual design is presented for a low complexity, heritage-based flyby mission to Io, Jupiter's innermost Galilean satellite and the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. The design addresses the 2011 Decadal Surveys recommendation for a New Frontiers class mission to Io and is based upon the result of the June 2012 NASA-JPL Planetary Science Summer School. A science payload is proposed to investigate the link between the structure of Io's interior, it's volcanic activity, it's surface composition, and it's tectonics. A study of Io's atmospheric processes and Io's role in the Jovian magnetosphere is also planned. The instrument suite includes a visible/near IR imager, a magnetic field and plasma suite, a dust analyzer and a gimbaled high gain antenna to perform radio science investigations. Payload activity and spacecraft operations would be powered by three Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generators (ASRG). The primary mission includes 10 flybys with close-encounter altitudes as low as 100 km. The mission risks are mitigated by ensuring that relevant components are radiation tolerant and by using redundancy and flight-proven parts in the design. The spacecraft would be launched on an Atlas V rocket with a delta-v of 1.3 km/s. Three gravity assists (Venus, Earth, Earth) would be used to reach the Jupiter system in a 6-year cruise. The resulting concept demonstrates the rich scientific return of a flyby mission to Io.