The Icon satellite will explore the frontier of the Earth and space, where energy from above and below combines to affect everything from astronaut missions to radio and GPS communication.
Image: Reuters/A. Kuznetsov
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NASA launched a satellite Thursday to explore the ionosphere, a mysterious part of Earth's atmosphere on the edge of space.
The satellite shot into orbit from a plane flying over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of the US state of Florida.
The satellite called Icon, or Ionospheric Connection Explorer, will transmit data intended to help scientists understand the "physical processes at work where Earth's atmosphere interacts with near-Earth space," NASA said.
Research by scientists at NASA has identified this region of "near space" as being in constant flux from solar storms above and weather below.
According to NASA, the ionosphere is a fluctuating layer of electrons and charged atoms and molecules ranging from 48 kilometers (30 miles) above the Earth's surface to 965 kilometers (600 miles) above the ground at the edge of space.
"This dynamic region grows and shrinks based on solar conditions,"
Better communications and space missions
NASA said the Icon satellite will transmit data intended to help scientists understand the "physical processes at work where Earth's atmosphere interacts with near-Earth space."
"This protected layer, it's the top of our atmosphere. It's our frontier with space," Nicola Fox, NASA's heliophysics division director, told the Associated Press, adding that the ionosphere is influenced by energy from extreme weather like hurricanes, along with solar storms.
According to NASA, electron particles in the ionosphere normally reflect radio waves back towards the ground, which enables long-distance radio communication. However, fluctuation in the electron levels can "possibly cause radio communications to fail, reduce the accuracy of GPS systems, damage satellites and harm electrical grids."
The satellite can more directly analyze how solar storms affect Earth, which has implications for astronauts, radio communication, and GPS navigation systems.
NASA administrator, Jim Bridenstine, said in a tweet that the mission will provide "key support" for astronauts on future missions, including potentially returning to the moon.
World marks 50 years since the Apollo 11 moon landing
With parties, speeches and artistic displays, the world has marked the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission which brought men to the lunar surface. NASA showcased its new spacecraft for future flights to the moon.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Harnik
Monument to Apollo 11
Americans showed their pride over the 1969 moon landing with events across the country. The Washington Monument, a 169-meter (555 feet) pillar of marble in the US capital, was turned into a display with images of the lunar mission and a moving projection of the 111-meter Saturn V rocket, which took the Apollo 11 astronauts to the moon.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Harnik
Footsteps of giants
US Vice President Mike Pence (left) praised the Apollo 11 team as "heroes" at a celebration at the US spaceport Cape Canaveral. Half a century ago, a team consisting of pilot Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin (right) and Neil Armstrong took off from the US base to reach Earth's natural satellite. Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the moon, died in 2012.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/AP Photo/J. Raoux
Catching some sun
This picture, taken by Armstrong, shows Aldrin planting a long sheet of foil designed to capture material radiated by the sun. The two men stayed on the lunar surface for a little over 2 1/2 hours. On Saturday, NASA replayed the original broadcast of the landing seen by half a billion people in 1969.
Image: NASA
Watching 'The Dish' from Down Under
Australians also marked the Apollo 11 anniversary by gathering around the Parkes Radio Telescope for a screening of the 2000 film "The Dish." The movie tells the story of Australians and NASA employees working together and using the Parkes telescope to support the moon landing. Parkes was one of three tracking stations around the world tasked with beaming live pictures of the event.
Image: picture-alliance/ZUMAPRESS/C. Khoury
Labyrinthine tribute
In Wistow, Leicestershire, east of Birmingham, the owners of an 8-acre maze that attracts more than 25,000 visitors every summer chose to mark the 50th anniversary of the moon landing with a design depicting an astronaut.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/J. Giddens
Putting people on the moon
Further south in London, the city marked the jubilee by showing a mosaic image of the moon at Piccadilly Circus at the moment of the 1969 touchdown. British artist Helen Marshall created the image out of thousands of photos sent by members of the public. The mosaic was projected simultaneously in London, New York and Singapore.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/Yui Mok
A view of home
In Shanghai, an artistic installation by UK artist Luke Jerram shows a high-definition image of the Earth taken in 1972. When people view the installation from 211 meters (about 700 feet) away, it would be exactly the same as the view from the moon in 1969. To make the experience more vivid, there are over 1,000 square meters of simulated moon land, where visitors can leave their footprints.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Jiang Xiaowei
Going to Mars via the moon
NASA plans to send new astronauts to the moon by 2024 with its Artemis program, named after the goddess and twin sister of Apollo in Greek mythology. The program is set to include a platform that would orbit the moon, called Gateway, with astronauts traveling in the Orion crew capsule (pictured). The ultimate goal, however, is much further away: a journey to Mars.
Image: Imago Images/ZumaPress/B. Smegelsky
Space flight doesn't stop
While the Apollo 11 veterans attended the celebrations in the US, a team of astronauts took off for the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The team includes American Andrew Morgan, Russian Alexander Skvortsov, and Italian Luca Parmitano. The trio modeled their mission patches after the ones used by the famous 1969 team.
