Atmospheric and Near-Earth Space Environment – Online Short Course (Starts 6 February 2025) 6 February - 10 April 2025 Online

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  • From 6 February – 10 April (10 Weeks, 10 Classes, 20 Total Hours)

  • Every Thursday from 6–8 p.m. Eastern Time (all sessions will be recorded and available for replay; course notes will be available for download)

  • This course provides a comprehensive overview of the atmospheric and space environment experienced by suborbital and orbital spacecraft.

  • New joint course with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS)

  • All students will receive a joint AIAA/IIAS Certificate of Completion at the end of the course.

OVERVIEW
The course provides an overview of the atmospheric and space environment experienced by suborbital and orbital spacecraft. It builds an understanding of the Earth’s atmosphere from the troposphere over the stratosphere and mesosphere to the thermosphere and the near-Earth space environment. The course will introduce the relevant aspects of each environment with a focus on dynamics, chemistry, radiation environment and energetic particle environment. It will outline commonalities as well as differences between these environments and discuss effects on spacecraft where applicable. The course will close with an outlook on space weather and an overview of the atmospheric environment of Mars.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon completion of the course students will:

  • Have obtained a fundamental knowledge about the Earth’s atmosphere from the troposphere to the near-Earth space environment.
  • Be able to apply basic concepts that describe these environments.
  • Use simple models of Earth’s atmosphere and allow him or her to apply them to questions concerning the atmospheric environment.
  • Apply this knowledge to environmental effects on spacecraft and measurement design.
  • [See below for detailed outline]

AUDIENCE: Aerospace professionals, graduate students, upper-division undergraduate students

COURSE FEES (Sign-In To Register)
- AIAA or IIAS Member Price: $995 USD
- Non-Member Price: $1,195 USD

CLASSROOM HOURS / CEUs: 20 classroom hours, 20 CEU/PDH

CANCELLATION POLICY: A refund less a $50.00 cancellation fee will be assessed for all cancellations made in writing prior to 7 days before the start of the event. After that time, no refunds will be provided.

CONTACT: Please contact Lisa Le or Customer Service if you have questions about the course or group discounts (for 5+ participants).

Frequently Asked Questions

Outline

Class 1: Thursday, Feb 6 at 6 p.m. ET

  • Introduction to the Scientific Method
  • Introduction to the Earth’s Atmosphere
    • Atmospheric structure
    • Ideal gas law
Class 2: Thursday, Feb 13 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Radiative Properties of the Atmosphere – Climate
    • Black body radiation
    • Interactions of light with matter
    • Atmospheric transmission
    • Atmospheric energy balance and greenhouse effect
Class 3: Thursday, Feb 20 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Troposphere (1)
    • Variation of pressure with altitude
      • Hydrostatic equation
      • Concept of scale height
      • Barometric formula
    • Variation of temperature with altitude
      • Atmospheric lapse rate
      • Atmospheric stability
    • Clouds
    • Hazardous weather
Class 4: Thursday, Feb 27 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Troposphere (2)
    • Forces driving wind
    • Tropospheric circulation
    • Synoptic weather systems and fronts
    • Numerical weather prediction
    • Impact of weather on spacecraft operations
Class 5: Thursday, Mar 6 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Stratosphere
    • Stratospheric dynamics
    • Concept of potential temperature and gravity waves
    • Concept of potential vorticity and planetary waves
    • Stratospheric ozone chemistry and polar stratospheric clouds
    • Impact of air traffic on the stratosphere
Class 6: Thursday, Mar 13 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Mesosphere
    • Mesospheric composition and chemistry
    • Mesospheric temperatures and energy balance
    • Mesospheric dynamics, gravity waves and tides
    • Polar mesospheric clouds and polar mesospheric summer echoes
Class 7: Thursday, Mar 20 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Upper Atmosphere: Thermosphere
    • Thermospheric energy input
    • Thermospheric composition and chemistry
    • Thermospheric structure
    • Environmental effects on spacecraft
Class 8: Thursday, Mar 27 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Upper Atmosphere: Ionosphere
    • Ionospheric layers
    • Impact on radio transmissions
    • Optical effects in the upper atmosphere
      • Aurora
      • Airglow
      • Optical effects above Thunderstorms
Class 9: Thursday, Apr 3 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Upper Atmosphere: Exosphere and Near-Earth Space Environment
    • Movement of charged particles
    • Earth’s magnetic field
    • Magnetosphere and Van Allen radiation belts
    • Solar energetic particles and cosmic rays – space weather
    • Exobase and atmospheric escape
    • Environmental effects on spacecraft
Class 10: Thursday, Apr 10 at 6 p.m. ET
  • Comparative Planetology: Introduction to Mars’ Atmosphere
    • Mars’ atmospheric structure and composition
    • Seasonal and diurnal temperature cycles
    • Dust and condensates and their radiative effects
    • Entry, descent and landing of spacecraft on Mars
Materials

COURSE DELIVERY AND MATERIALS

  • The course lectures will be delivered via the IIAS GoToMeeting Webinar Service.
  • All sessions will be available on-demand within 1-2 days of the lecture. Once available, you can stream the replay video anytime, 24/7. All slides will be available for download after each lecture.
  • No part of these materials may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted, unless for course participants. All rights reserved.
  • Between lectures, the instructors will be available via email for technical questions and comments.

Recommended Textbooks
The course is largely based on material found in the following textbooks:

  • Frederick, J. F., Principles of Atmospheric Science, Jones and Bartlett, 2008.
  • Moldwin, M., An Introduction to Space Weather, Cambridge University Press, 2008.
  • Other literature relevant to the course includes:
  • Sagan C., The Demon-haunted World – Science as a Candle in the Dark, Random house, 1996.
  • Catling, D. C. and Kasting, J. F., Atmospheric Evolution on Inhabited and Lifeless Worlds, Cambridge, 2017.
  • Tascione, T. F., Introduction to the space environment (2nd ed.), Krieger, 2010.
  • Fortescue, P., Swinerd, G., Stark, J., Spacecraft Systems Engineering (4th ed.), Wiley, 2011.
  • Haberle, R. M., et al., The Atmosphere and Climate of Mars, Cambridge, 2017.
Instructors
Dr. Armin Kleinböhl is a research scientist in the fields of atmospheric and planetary science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA. He is the Principal Investigator of the MkIV balloon interferometer, which performs atmospheric composition measurements from stratospheric balloons, and Acting Principal Investigator of the Mars Climate Sounder instrument onboard NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft, which has been observing the atmosphere of Mars since 2006. He is also a Participating Scientist of the Japanese Akatsuki Venus Climate Orbiter mission currently in orbit around Venus. Dr. Kleinböhl is a veteran of several airborne and balloon-borne field campaigns that led him on deployments in the Arctic, Europe, North America and Africa in order to study the stratospheric ozone layer and to validate satellite measurements.

Dr. Kleinböhl’s scientific work focuses on the chemistry and dynamics of the atmospheres of Earth, Mars, and Venus. His has made significant contributions to understanding processes controlling the polar ozone chemistry in Earth’s stratosphere and to characterizing atmospheric tides and dust storms in Mars’ atmosphere. He has been leading investigations with diverse teams of investigators in the fields of Earth’s atmosphere, Mars’ atmosphere, exoplanetary atmospheres and exobiology. His results were published in over 100 articles in scientific journals. He has authored or co-authored three book chapters and has presented his research in invited talks to scientific audiences as well as the public. He holds a Master in Physics from the University of Frankfurt and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics from the University of Bremen, Germany.

Dr. Kleinböhl serves as the Director of Aeronomy at the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences. He has participated in airborne observations of noctilucent clouds as well as several airborne microgravity campaigns for space suit testing, where he served in the roles of test director, suited test subject, suit assistant and equipment technician. He has participated in tests of both IVA and EVA space suits. He is also an instrument-rated private pilot and a certified scientific diver.

 

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