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{{Infobox spacecraft 
| Name = The Ionospheric Connection Explorer
| Image = [[File:The ICON observational geometry, showing both in situ and remote sensing of the ionosphere-thermosphere system.jpg|The ICON observational geometry, showing both in situ and remote sensing of the ionosphere-thermosphere system|300px]]
| Caption = <small>''Credit: ICON team''</small>
| Organization = [[NASA]]
| Major_Contractors = 
| Mission_Type = [[Earth observatory]]
| Satellite_Of = [[Earth]]
| Launch = 2016<ref name=selection></ref>
| Launch_Vehicle = [[Pegasus (rocket)|Pegasus XL]]
| Decay = 
| Mission_Duration = 2 years
| Mass = 
| NSSDC_ID = 
| Webpage = http://icon.ssl.berkeley.edu
| Orbital_elements = 
| Semimajor_Axis = 
| Eccentricity = 
| Inclination = 
| Orbital_Period = 
| Apoapsis = 
| Periapsis = 
| Orbits = [[Low Earth orbit]]
}}

The Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is a planned science mission for NASA's Explorer program, designed to study the connection between the Earth’s weather and space weather. Led by the University of California, Berkeley will provide NASA’s Heliophysics division with a new capability to observe the connection between the Earth’s thermosphere and ionosphere. Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). ICON was one of 11 proposals selected for NASA funding in September 2011, down from the original 22 submitted in February of that year.^[1] On April 12, 2013, NASA announced that ICON, along with Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD), had been selected for launch in 2017.^[2] The principal investigator of ICON is Thomas Immel of the University of California, Berkeley. ^[2]

Mission concept

Once launched, ICON will perform a two-year mission to observe conditions in both the thermosphere and ionosphere.^[2] ICON will be equipped with four instruments: a Michelson interferometer, built by the United States Naval Research Laboratory, will measure the winds in the thermosphere; an ion drift meter, to be built by UT Dallas will measure the motion of charged particles in the ionosphere; and two Ultraviolet imagers will observe the airglow layers in the upper atmosphere in order to determine both ionospheric and thermospheric density and composition.

References

^ "NASA Selects Science Investigations For Concept Studies" (Press release). NASA. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c "NASA Selects Explorer Investigations for Formulation". NASA. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

External links

Category:2016 in spaceflight Category:Future spaceflights Category:Explorer program

[study-1] "NASA Selects Science Investigations For Concept Studies" (Press release). NASA. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2013.

[selection-2] "NASA Selects Explorer Investigations for Formulation". NASA. Retrieved 6 April 2013.

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