THE SECOND SPACE AGE LEADS TO CLOSER STUDY OF NOCTILUCENT CLOUDS
Thanks to commercial spaceflight opportunities such as Virgin Galactic and Space X, today’s so-called second space age is attracting artists, students and scientists. The anticipated access to high altitude and space environments is expected to continue the trajectory of scientific exploration and human creativity.
Terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric explorer Trent Tresch is one young Explorers Club member looking to use currently available platforms to assist scientists and researchers in studying the upper atmosphere at affordable costs. In 2017, then age 24, Tresch conducted studies through an Embry Riddle spaceflight program known as Project PoSSUM (Polar Suborbital Science in the Upper Mesosphere). The project aims to study upper atmospheric phenomena such as noctilucent clouds. He is now compiling an expedition into the field to support the research.
“We hope to fly a high-speed MIG29 above the majority of Earth’s atmosphere to near-space altitudes – 70,000 feet above Mean Sea Level – to develop optimal camera imaging technology and methods, then obtain the optical data on noctilucent clouds that we need,” says the now 28-year-old Washington State resident.
Noctilucent clouds are the highest clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere (50 miles above sea level). These mysterious clouds were first observed in 1885, but through the years sightings have been increasing, perhaps due to climate change.Tresch continues, “If we understand these cloud formations, we can address fundamental questions of how energy and momentum are transferred in the upper atmosphere. Images and video at these altitudes will help verify cloud locations against satellite observations and guide us in determining if and how human activity relates to cloud presence.
“This research expands to also inform us of usable flight regions for commercial space vehicles and builds our understanding of low-density atmospheres on other planets such as Mars,” Tresch tells EN.
Both satellite and ground-based observations over the past decades have indicated that the presence of these clouds has been increasing in both frequency and brightness. “Scientists now believe that they could be a type of sensitivity indicator for what is going on in the upper atmosphere. Small changes in our atmospheric environment can lead to large changes in the properties of these clouds.” Tresch has been working with numerous organizations to obtain access to the aircraft needed to reach these near-space altitudes and has compiled a team that has begun working on correcting image distortion from the aircraft and integrating necessary flight components such as spacesuits.
Tresch, no stranger to the exploration field, has worked on projects ranging from the polar regions to the deep sea. In 2019, he was a recipient of the Explorers Club Mamont Scholars Grant to study astronaut parafoil deployment handle locations. He continues to procure grants and resources for the near-space flights. Having already lined up aircraft, spacesuits and a world-class team, he anticipates the expedition to take place in the fourth quarter of 2021.