Sounding the upper mesosphere using broadband solar occultation: the SOFIE experiment

The Solar Occultation For Ice Experiment (SOFIE) is scheduled for launch onboard the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite in March 2007. SOFIE is designed to measure polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) and the environment in which they form. SOFIE will conduct solar occultation measurements in 16 spectral bands that are used to retrieve vertical profiles of temperature, O3, H2O, CO2, CH4, NO, and PMC extinction at 10 wavelengths. Thirty occultations are observed each day covering latitudes from 65° - 85°S and 65° - 85°N. The PMC measurements are simultaneous with temperature and gas measurements that are unaffected by PMC signal. This data set will be the first of its kind, and allow new advancements in the understanding of the upper mesosphere.