Documents / Official release
This NASA file of astronaut scientific debriefing papers from 1962 collects internal Office of Space Sciences material on the science observations made on early Mercury flights. A February 1962 memo from Maurice Dubin asks for more detail on John Glenn's report of luminous particles and the atmospheric horizon layer. A draft memo concludes that the particles were tied to the spacecraft and were not extraterrestrial. The file also holds a Los Alamos letter that attributes the high haze layer to nitrogen peroxide, and notes on Carpenter's airglow observations.
From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 This file contains memoranda, correspondence, reports, and other materials relating to contemporary scientific interest in investigating the nature of luminous phenomena reported by astronauts John Glenn and Walter Schirra during spaceflight. This collection includes transcripts from NASA interviews and debriefings with both astronauts regarding those observations. It also contains details relating to scientific observations of atmospheric phenomena, including brief descriptions of luminous particles, experiences while aboard spacecraft, and circa 1955 theoretical analysis of meteoric particles entering the atmosphere. Pages 34-35, 55-56, 57-63, 64-113, and 122-127 feature content relevant to the PURSUE initiative.
Meteor ionization in the E-region 117 now the electron density. For small particles, where the number of electrons formed per centimetre of path is small, the diffusion term is predominant, and the train quickly decreases to the equilibrium electron density, which is thus given by °'n2 = rate of production of electrons. The effective recombination coefficient for the E-region is e<(O2 ) '.::::'. 5. 10- s cm3 sec-1 , when 0 2 is present, and e<(O) '.::::'. 4 X 10- 9 cm3 sec- 1 if oxygen has been dissociated. Thus n is approximately equal to 7 . 104 and 2 . 104 in the upper and lower E-region, respectively. 3. Co cLusrn s The above is app ·cable to three effects in the E-layers. First, the diurnal variation of the E-layer is found to agree fairly well with the (cos x)t law for the variation of the simple Ch pman region (xis -the zenith angle of the sun) . The variation is found to be alm~st symmetrical with reference to the maximum at noon (MITRA, 1952). However, with the accepted value of the recombination coefficient, the E-layer ionization at night should fall to a very low value. The residual ionization density as observed is much greater than it hould be. It is therefore suggested that this night-time value results from the bombardment of micrometeorites. Secondly, measurements of effective electron density obtained by rockets (LIEN et al. , 1953) indicated that a bifurcation, or two maxima, in electron density were present in the B-region. It is suggested that one maximum results from solar radiation, the other from micrometeoric bombardment. And finally, it is proposed that the sporadic E-clouds of ionization result from micrometeorites. Although some correlation with meteor showers is found, the major portion of the ionization results from micrometeorites with a fine structure undetectable by radio probing. The cloud-like structure of the E-layer very possibly re ults from clouds of micrometeorites. The amount of micrometeorites, the penetration depth, the ionization efficiency, and the distribution of the micro meteorites are all con. istent with the conditions required for such an explanation. Granted the laboratory evidence for the ionization process is not adequate, but the general physical reasoning based on ionization density measurements by radio methods of lower visual magnitude meteorites leads to an order of magnitude that• seems very promising. In conclusion, it may be possible also to relate the meteoric bombardment of the upper atmosphere to the high-latitude magnetic storms and aurorae. For this process it is necessary that sufficient photoelectric effect from solar ultraviolet radiation be ,Present to charge the micrometeorites and thereby allow some control by the earth's magnetic field. This investigation will be described elsewhere. REFERENCES ARNOT, F. L., a nd I ILLIGA , J. C. (1936) Proc. Roy. S oc. A 156, 538 BERRY, H. W. (1942) Phys. R ev. 62, 378 BERRY, H. W. , VARNEY , R.H., and NEWBERRY, S. (1942) Phys. Rev. 61, 63 GREE NHOW, J. S., and HAWKINS, G . S. (1952) Nature, Lond. 170, 355 HEALE A, M. and HoU TERMANS , C. (1940) Phys. R ev. 58, 608 liERLOFSON , N. (1948) Phys. oc. R ep. Prog. Phys. 11, 444 LIEN, J . R. , MARCOU, R. J., ULWICK, J. C., McMORROW, D. R., BLUNDFORD, L., and HAYCO K, 0. C. (1953) Phys. Rev. 92, 508
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Official release, from the pursue collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is under it. 216 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.