Design of a MIPAS Instrument for high-altitude aircraft

A new MIPAS (Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding) is being designed for remote sensing of atmospheric trace constituents from high-altitude aircraft. The main goal is the measurement of cross sections of stratospheric species relevant to ozone research, such as ClONO{sub 2}, N{sub 2}O{sub 5}, NO, NO{sub 2} and HNO{sub 3}. The instrument measures the mid-infrared thermal emission of the atmosphere by limb- and upward sounding. From the spectra the two-dimensional distribution of the trace species along the flight trajectory can be derived. The instrument development is based on the approved balloon-borne MIPAS-B2 and aircraft MIPAS-FT systems. The system will be located in unpressurized compartments and thus operate under ambient temperature and pressure conditions. Major design constraints are the low mass-budget (max. 200 kg) and the automated operation without personnel intervention. The paper presents the concept and current status of the instrument development. 6 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab.