41.111 and 41.112 UE Terrier-Improved Orions were launch launched from Poker Flat Research Range, AK on January 26, 2015. The purpose of the Mesospheric Inversion-layer Stratified Turbulence (MIST) mission is to look for evidence of changes in the stratified turbulence properties within long-lived mesospheric inversion layers in the atmosphere between 80km and 140km. Especially of interest is the structure function, i.e., power spectrum, of the turbulent fluctuations in that region. The MIST payloads, launched in close sequence with the M-TEX rockets, gather data about turbulence in the mesospheric inversion layer by deploying tri-methyl aluminum tracer (TMA) material. The TMA is released from the payloads during both the upleg and downleg portions of the flight and creates whitish clouds that are photographed from several ground stations. Analysis of the data will enable detection of turbulence in the region between 80 and 140 km.

The Principal Investigator was Dr. Miguel Larsen/Clemson University.

Links:

http://www.nasa.gov/content/assp-sounding-rocket-launches-successfully-from-alaska/