ICON released on October 10, 2019, and completed its two-year prime objective science objectives in December 2021. It has actually been running in extended mission status because that time.
ICON, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer studied the frontier of area: the dynamic zone high in our atmosphere where Earth weather and space weather satisfy. In this area, the rare gases are anything however peaceful, as a mix of neutral and charged particles travel through in giant winds. These winds can change on a broad range of time scales– due to Earths seasons, the days cooling and heating, and incoming bursts of radiation from the sun. This area of space and its modifications have practical effects, given our ever-increasing reliance on innovation– this is the location through which radio interactions and GPS signals travel. ICON assisted figure out the physics of our space environment and its findings will help pave the method for reducing its results on our innovation, interactions systems, and society..
By Denise Hill, NASA
December 8, 2022
Illustration of ICON spacecraft. Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center/Mary Pat Hrybyk-Keith
NASAs Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) group lost contact with the spacecraft on November 25, 2022. The ICON spacecraft is equipped with an integrated onboard command loss timer that will power cycle or reset the spacecraft after contact is lost for eight days. After the power cycle was total on December 5, the group was still unable to get a downlink signal from the spacecraft. Currently, the group is still working to develop a connection.
Dealing with the Department of Defenses Space Surveillance Network, the group has verified that ICON remains intact.
NASAs Ionospheric Connection Explorer objective launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on October 10, 2019, to study the impacts of terrestrial weather condition and solar influences on the Earths ionosphere from a height of about 350 miles. Credit: Maria Estacion, U.S. Navy
The ICON objective group is working to troubleshoot the problem and has actually narrowed the cause of the communication loss to problems within the avionics or radio-frequency interactions subsystems. The team is currently not able to identify the health of the spacecraft, and the absence of a downlink signal might be a sign of a system failure.
NASAs Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) group lost contact with the spacecraft on November 25, 2022. The ICON spacecraft is equipped with an integrated onboard command loss timer that will power cycle or reset the spacecraft after contact is lost for 8 days. ICON, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer studied the frontier of area: the dynamic zone high in our environment where Earth weather condition and area weather fulfill.
