NASA's 15-year-old AIM spacecraft not supporting operations due to battery woes

NASA's AIM, short for Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere, has ended operational support after experiencing issues with its battery. The mission team will continue to monitor the Earth-studying spacecraft's communication for two weeks in case it is able to reboot and transmit a signal.

Launched in 2007, AIM completed its primary mission in 2009 and has been in extended operations status since then. According to NASA, the spacecraft's batteries initially started to decline in 2019. Despite the decline in the battery power, the mission continued to return a significant amount of data. Now, with further decline, the spacecraft currently is not able to receive commands or collect data.

After more than 15 years of service, NASA's AIM spacecraft is no longer supporting operations due to battery issues. The team will continue to monitor AIM's communication for two weeks in case the spacecraft is able to reboot and transmit a signal. https://t.co/GiKKgDU4bc pic.twitter.com/xcO4vFnxnh

— NASA Sun & Space (@NASASun) March 16, 2023

NASA's AIM was originally slated to operate for two years with the primary objective of studying the physical and chemical processes that are responsible for the formation of mysterious polar mesospheric clouds, also known as noctilucent clouds (NLCs) in the Earth's mesosphere. These clouds are rare and elusive, usually visible at high latitudes near the North and South Poles during the summer months.

AIM orbits around Earth in a near-circular, sun-synchronous orbit. The spacecraft can look down on the polar mesospheric clouds from its orbit 312 miles above Earth

The AIM mission has been highly successful in achieving its scientific goals. Data gathered by the mission have changed scientists' understanding of the causes and formation of these mysterious clouds, leading to 379 peer-reviewed scientific papers.