Astronaut to Study Lightning Storms with New Camera on ISS
European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Andreas Mogensen is set to embark on a stormy mission to study lightning storms on Earth using a new camera. Mogensen, who recently arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) for a six-month mission, aims to shed more light on the structure of lightning storms and investigate elusive phenomena such as “blue jets” and “red sprites”.
“There’s still a lot to understand exactly how they form, how they develop,” Mogensen said in an interview with Space.com. He expressed excitement about this study, as his previous research on blue jets made the covers of prestigious scientific journals Science and Nature in 2015.
While powerful satellites like the American GOES series and the new European Meteosat Third Generation series have captured lightning storms from space, the advantage of this human-led study lies in the flexibility it offers. Mogensen can be retasked on the spot as storms arise, unlike satellites with fixed orbits.
Two favorable factors are also working in Mogensen’s favor. Unlike his 2015 mission which lasted only 10 days, this time he is expected to spend at least six months in space. Additionally, he will be equipped with a new camera called the Davis camera, which can capture up to 100,000 images per second.
According to Mogensen, the Davis camera “gives the scientists a way to study the formation and development of these types of lightning in much more detail. And there’s still a lot to understand exactly how they form, how they develop.”
The Davis camera utilizes a neuromorphic imaging technique, which differs from standard cameras. Instead of collecting light through the camera shutter, the camera measures differences in light to create an image. It records changes in light, allowing for more detailed analysis and the production of videos.
This study on lightning storms also provides a unique perspective on human-induced climate change. Olivier Chanrion, lead author of a presentation on the study, stated that the interaction between lightning events and the upper atmosphere is not fully understood. Chanrion, who is also a senior researcher at Denmark’s largest space research institute, DTU Space, believes that studying lightning storms can provide insights into the impact of these events on the injection of greenhouse gases and aerosols in the stratosphere.
As Mogensen begins his mission, scientists and researchers eagerly await the data and images that will be captured by his new camera. This study promises to unravel the mysteries of lightning storms and provide valuable information about their role in climate change.