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> Up past the clouds, past the stratosphere,

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and even farther some 60 to 600 miles above Earth our atmosphere slowly gives way to space.

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This region, the ionosphere, is home to the aurora, but it is also increasingly a key part of the human domain.

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It houses not only astronauts, but radio signals used to guide airplanes,

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and ships, and many satellites, and yet the ionosphere is not well understood.

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To explore this area of near Earth space, NASA and UC Berekley built the ionospheric connection explorer, or ICON.

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ICON's task is to help us understand just what causes the constant changes we see in the ionosphere.

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The more we understand the more we can protect our assets in space.

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From a position close to Earth, ICON samples variations in the ionosphere over the course of hours days and seasons.

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The mission will investigate how the ionosphere reacts to our planet's weather,

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rising up from below, as well as space weather from above.

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A key set of the mission's observations focus on the most eye catching phenomena visible in the ionosphere: air glow.

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Colorful bands of plasma caused by solar radiation.

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ICON will use specialized technology to track how this plasma is moving through the ionosphere.

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As we learn more about the relationship linking Earth's atmosphere and the space environment

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the information will help improve the ability to predict conditions in the ionosphere,

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one more important step in protecting ourselves as we venture farther and farther from home. tone beeping