spase-metadata.org SPASE landing pages.

AIM

ResourceID
spase://SMWG/Observatory/AIM

Description

AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) is a NASA Small
Explorer spacecraft launched April 25, 2007, into a high-inclination,
600-km altitude orbit for study of noctilucent clouds (also called Polar
Mesospheric Clouds) that occur at 80-90 km altitudes at high latitudes in
summer time and are thought to be formed by ice crystals.

AIM carried three instruments:

  • The Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) experiment
    that provides an average 5km x 5km resolution in downward-looking images.
  • The Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) for limb profiles of
    temperatures and absorptions for various molecules.
  • The Cosmic Dust Experiment (CDE).

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Details

Version:2.7.1

Observatory

ResourceID
spase://SMWG/Observatory/AIM
NamingAuthority
SMWG
ResourceType
Observatory
ResourceHeader
ResourceName
AIM
ReleaseDate
2026-07-20 16:22:34Z
RevisionHistory
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2010-08-05 18:19:12Z
Note
Only known prior ReleaseDate of the metadata
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2026-05-28 10:20:20Z
Note
Added new Contact:Role(s). Added ResourceType and NamingAuthority. Updated to 2.7.1. Changed http to https in top-level schemaLocation attribute. Fixed version number separator in top-level schemaLocation attribute. ZCB
RevisionEvent
ReleaseDate
2026-07-20 16:22:34Z
Note
Added HelioData InformationURL. JWL
Description

AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) is a NASA Small
Explorer spacecraft launched April 25, 2007, into a high-inclination,
600-km altitude orbit for study of noctilucent clouds (also called Polar
Mesospheric Clouds) that occur at 80-90 km altitudes at high latitudes in
summer time and are thought to be formed by ice crystals.

AIM carried three instruments:

  • The Cloud Imaging and Particle Size (CIPS) experiment
    that provides an average 5km x 5km resolution in downward-looking images.
  • The Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) for limb profiles of
    temperatures and absorptions for various molecules.
  • The Cosmic Dust Experiment (CDE).
Contacts
RolePersonStartDateStopDateNote
1.PrincipalInvestigatorspase://SMWG/Person/Scott.Bailey
2.ProjectScientist
FormerPI		spase://SMWG/Person/James.M.Russell.III
InformationURL
Name
AIM web page at Hampton University
URL
http://aim.hamptonu.edu/
InformationURL
Name
HelioData
URL
https://helio.data.nasa.gov/mission/AIM
Description

The HelioData mission page provides an overview of the mission and more, such as all SPASE dataset records associated with it.

Location
ObservatoryRegion
Earth.NearSurface