| Abstract |
TIMED is a NASA exploratory mission, managed and operated by JHU/APL (Johns Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory) for NASA. The primary objective is to investigate and understand the energetics of the Mesosphere and Lower-Thermosphere/Ionosphere (MLTI), the region in the Earth's atmosphere from about 60 to 180 km in altitude. The measurements of TIMED will provide data defining the basic states of the MLTI region and its thermal balance. Specific missions goals are:
· To determine the temperature, density and solar wind structure in the MLTI region, including the seasonal and latitudinal variations
· To determine the relative importance of the various radiative, chemical, electrodynamical, and dynamical sources or sinks of energy for an understanding of the thermal structure of the MLTI.
Areas of applications: The MLTI (Mesosphere and Lower-Thermosphere/Ionosphere) is a very poorly understood region of the atmosphere. The results of the TIMED mission will enable the scientific community to establish the first quantitative MLTI baseline and will serve as a basis for future investigations.
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