HIgh-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere ElectrodynamicS (HILITES) Campaign

The HILITE campaign will study high-latitude electrodynamics through coordinated observations by ground-based instrumentation and sounding rockets near the town of Kangerlussuaq, Greenland (formerly Søndre Strømfjord). Rockets are not new to Kangerlussuaq as past NASA campaigns, such as the Cooperative Observations of Polar Electrodynamics (COPE) program in 1985 and 1987, have used a rocket facility just outside of town to carry out upper atmospheric studies . These were successful campaigns, see list of COPE publications, involving coordinated operations between the ground-based instrumentation at the Sondrestrom incoherent scatter facility and the rocket facility.

Discussions have begun concerning the possibility of carrying out a new rocket campaign in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to study the complex processes at play in the high latitude E region.  To kickoff the initiative a two-hour workshop was held at the 1998 CEDAR meeting in Boulder Colorado on June 10. A description of the workshop and a list of participates can be found by following the link to the CEDAR HLE Workshop.

The project continues to move forward.  Since the CEDAR workshop a series of meetings on science and logistics have been held. The results of these meetings have been positive and informative.  A chronology of events summarizing these meetings , including the prepoposal meeting at SRI in December 1998 and a US research in Greenland meeting at the Danish Polar Center in Copenhagen on February 27, 1999, is given under the topical heading of How is the project progressing?
 

Key issues related to the HILITE campaign

Timeline        New Information April 20, 1999

• Campaign Initiation  =>  CEDAR Workshop June 1998
• Pre-proposal Workshop  =>  SRI December 11, 1998
• Proposal Submission, see http://spacescience.nasa.gov/nra/99-oss-01/

• First Funds  =>  January 2000
• Target Launch Date =>  Winter 2002

Who to contact?

Why Greenland?

• The rocket dispersion zone is better than in most arctic rocket sites with the possibilities of launching to the North, East, or South providing polar cap or auroral zone measurements
• The incoherent-scatter radar facility has improved in its capabilities through improved radar pulse schemes, new instrumentation, and improved infrastructure. These capabilities can better complement rocket measurements
• The facility is located only about 13 km from the rocket range and is readily available for supporting logistics and operations
• The Kangerlussuaq International Science Support, KISS facility, in town is fully supportive of scientific studies and can provide the necessary accommodations for lodging, meetings, and storage

What is the Scientific Theme?

High Latitude E region Processes (detailed descriptions of each topic are  provided through links)

• Height-resolved electrodynamics
• Joule heating rates
• Current density
• Conductivity
• Neutral winds
• NLC / PMSE Processes
• Dust
• Gravity wave activity
• Temperature
• Thin Layers - Ions and Neutrals
• ion composition
• E-field
• minor and major neutral constituents
• Lower E-region Instability Processes
• electron temperature
• E-field
• neutral winds
• Auroral HF Roar Processes
• E-M wave fields
• electron density structure
• Cusp Processes
• Poynting Flux
• Small-scale gravity waves

How is the project progressing?

A Chronology of events

September 14, 1998  Danish Meteorological Institute Meeting

Action Items

Action Items

Meeting Location and Information
Meeting Agenda
Meeting Participants
Meeting Summary

Meeting Summary

Last updated, June 23, 1999