Atmospheric Evaluation and Research at the Interface of Space (AERIS)
Project Topic: Research Payload Design for Suborbital Space Environment Data Collection Ìý
Sponsor: BAE Systems
Description: The AERIS mission aims to investigate the suborbital space environment and enhance the understanding of how atmospheric gases behave in the critical transition zone between the Earth’s atmosphere and space. Despite the significance of this transition region near the Karman Line, there is a lack of accurate atmospheric data for this region. This region is too high for atmospheric weather balloons to reach, and too low for satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The mission objective is to design and develop a payload that can deploy sensor suites from the top of the propulsion module of launch vehicle after it separates from the crew module around an altitude of 100 km. The sensor suites will have sensors installed to measure the atmospheric density from 100 km to 80 km, in addition to position and time data as they fall back down to the Earth’s surface.
Team Members
- Matthew Ramos (PM)
- Alex Gomez Valdez
- Brandon Bernard
- Conner Parker
- Dana Gutierrez
- Hope Smith
- Joanna Blake
- Joshua Bernstein
- Taylor Bata
- Thomas Zapel
- Tommy Collier
- Zack Ellis