49.001 UE Oriole IV (Talos – Terrier Mk70 – Oriole – Nihka) was launched from Poker Flat Research Range, AK on February 6, 2013. The VISualizing Ion Outflow vie Neutral atom imaging during a Substrom (VISIONS) science objective is to understand: How, when, and where, are ions accelerated to escape velocities in the auroral zone below 1,000 Km following a sub-storm onset. In order to achieve this objective, VISIONS will utilize a combination of in situ (in place) measurements at altitudes up to 1000 Km and remote sensing over a volume of 1000 Km in diameter. VISIONS will make the first measurements that can separate spatial from temporal variations in the ion outflows and determine their relation to sources of free energy in the night-side auroral zone following a sub-storm onset. The Principal Investigator is Dr. Douglas Rowland/NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

For more information on the VISIONS project, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/visions-aurora.html