Noctilucent Clouds (NLCs) are the central focus to NASAs ‘PMC-Turbo’ high-altitude balloon mission, which will fly a suite of seven high-resolution camera systems and an airborne lidar system through a two-week mission around the circumpolar vortex above the Antarctic continent. A unique opportunity arose to validate the imagers developed for this experiment while studying NLC structure and temporal development through airborne NLC observations coordinated with ground and satellite observations. The PoSSUM airborne noctilucent cloud tomography campaign was a 14-day aircraft flight experiment conducted between 24 June and 7 July, 2017 from High Level Airport, Alberta. The experiment was mostly citizen-science and privately-funded. The objectives of the campaign were to 1) validate the PMC-Turbo camera systems on actual noctilucent cloud structures, 2) produce tomographic reconstructions of small-scale noctilucent cloud structures, 3) observe the temporal evolution of small-scale features not observed from the ground, 4) interpolate the low-latitude threshold of satellite imagery through synchronized observations with the AIM satellite, and 5) enable broad science communication by involving a diversity of citizen scientists.

The cameras were 16.7MP monochromatic cameras paired with 135mm lenses. One of the ‘PMC Turbo’ camera systems was configured on a research aircraft that flew on a constant line of latitude at an altitude of 7000m between two ground stations where identical camera systems were positioned. Several sorties were timed with overpasses of the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite.