Current Topics in ITM Science
It is an incredibly exciting time to be working in Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere (ITM) science. The Sun is the most active it has been in two decades. Greenhouse cooling of the ITM system has been verified. Space Weather forecasting is transitioning to more physics-based models, which opens the door for new sensors to provide near-real time observations to drive those models. ITM science has become relevant to the development of the rapidly growing space economy and will almost certainly influence future space policy and law as well as the economic decisions of companies doing business in space. These factors will likely necessitate the development of a “Geospace Observing System (GeOS)” to measure and quantify long-term change in the ITM system. These topics will be presented and discussed in a “roundtable” format in which active participation of all attendees is anticipated.
Marty Mlynczak is a Senior Research Scientist in the Climate Science Branch of the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA. He received his PhD from the University of Michigan, his Master’s from the University of Wisconsin, and his B. S. from the University of Missouri. He is presently the Principal Investigator of the SABER Instrument on the NASA TIMED satellite mission and a co-Investigator on the FORUM satellite mission of the European Space Agency (ESA) and a member of the Mission Advisory Group to ESA for FORUM. He is also a co-I on the recently selected SWORD Space Weather Center of Excellence and is an Affiliate Scientist of the High Altitude Observatory at NCAR. Marty’s interests include atmospheric thermodynamics and energetics and enjoys designing satellite sensors and systems to observe these phenomena.