MATS Operational Phase

The MATS satellite has finally been launched on November 4, 2022.

MATS will for the first time provide global three-dimensional data that are a key to studying gravity waves in the Earth’s atmosphere.

This will be the basis for addressing a number of high profile science questions concerning the role of gravity waves in controlling the Earth’s mesosphere and in connecting atmospheric dynamics from the lower to the upper atmosphere.

It will also be a basis for critically assessing the representation of gravity waves and their interactions in current weather and climate models.

MATS applies space-borne limb imaging in combination with tomographic and spectroscopic analysis to obtain gravity wave data on relevant spatial scales. Primary measurement targets are airglow in the near infrared and noctilucent clouds in the ultraviolet.

Over the past six years, we have developed all important elements of the MATS mission regarding scientific concept, instruments, calibration, retrieval tools, and operational planning.

An overall goal is to make MATS data as attractive and accessible as possible, in order to maximize the number of scientific groups who will use and publish the data.As a basis for these future science studies, the MATS mission is to provide a number of primary data products. These are three-dimensional fields of airglow, temperature, oxygen species, and noctilucent clouds.

These result from the tomographic and spectroscopic techniques that are at the centre of the MATS data analysis. All subsequent analysis of waves and other atmospheric structures will be based on these three-dimensional data fields.

With this proposal we aim at securing the production of these primary data products during the operational phase of the MATS mission.This relates to a central idea that distinguishes MATS and the InnoSat satellite programme from many other satellite missions: The research groups at the universities take responsibility not only for high-level science studies but also for the daily operational planning and basic data handling.

After six years of intense work, comprehensive knowledge has grown in the research groups about the complex analysis chains from satellites raw data to the primary data products, including satellite operation and quality assurance. Much of this knowledge is connected to a limited number of key persons.

It is now crucial to secure the future of these key persons in the MATS project.In the beginning of the MATS project, the work to be carried out and the results to be delivered have been defined in terms of detailed work packages. These work packages continue to be the basis for our work.

In particular, we remain committed to the original work packages that define the operational phase of the MATS mission after launch.

However, while the plan and the goals for the post-launch activities have not changed, the funding situation has changed.

The basic problem is substantial delays that have occurred during different project phases prior to launch, including procurement delays, instrument development, contamination issues, alternative orbit evaluations, hardware problem and the availability of launch opportunities.

In total, these problems have caused a delay of 5-years when compared to early planning during the Mission Definition Phase in 2014.

This in turn has affected the budget of the research groups, as it required extended employments and substantial extra work for managing and solving the problems. As a result, funding originally dedicated to activities after launch has in part been used up before launch.

Despite various mitigation measures, this has now led to a shortage of 5.1 person years for the upcoming MATS operational phase.

Another 0.5 person years will be needed to secure a continued involvement of the Royal Institute (KTH) in the data analysis. The resulting need of 5.6 person years for the basic MATS data production is the basis for this 2021-S proposal.