NASA Powers Down ISS AWE Instrument After 30 Months, Making Way for CLARREO Pathfinder
Updated
Updated · Science@NASA · May 21
NASA Powers Down ISS AWE Instrument After 30 Months, Making Way for CLARREO Pathfinder
3 articles · Updated · Science@NASA · May 21
May 21 marked the scheduled end of AWE’s data collection on the International Space Station, after the NASA instrument outlasted its planned two-year mission and completed 30 months in orbit.
More than 80 million nighttime infrared images let AWE track atmospheric gravity waves from storms including a May 2024 central U.S. tornado outbreak and Hurricane Helene, linking Earth weather to upper-atmosphere disturbances.
A recent study using AWE data found the gravity waves with the biggest upper-atmosphere impact had short horizontal wavelengths of 30 to 300 kilometers—signals that can disrupt navigation, timing and communications.
Canadarm2 will soon remove AWE, and the instrument will be loaded into a SpaceX Dragon cargo craft to burn up on reentry, while its observations remain publicly available for researchers and citizen scientists.
The cleared ISS external slot will go to CLARREO Pathfinder, which NASA says will measure sunlight reflected by Earth and the Moon with five to 10 times the accuracy of existing sensors.
With the AWE mission complete, how will scientists continuously monitor these atmospheric waves on a global scale for future space weather forecasts?
AWE proved Earth’s storms create space weather. How will this data now protect our vital GPS and communication satellites from terrestrial threats?
From 80 Million Atmospheric Images to Unprecedented Climate Accuracy: NASA’s AWE and CLARREO Pathfinder Transform ISS Earth Science
Overview
On May 21, 2026, NASA concluded the Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE) aboard the International Space Station, powering down the instrument after 30 months of valuable data collection—well beyond its original two-year plan. AWE’s main goal was to study atmospheric gravity waves, which are large ripples in Earth’s atmosphere created by strong winds and severe weather. By capturing subtle signatures of these waves, AWE provided unprecedented insights into how terrestrial weather events generate gravity waves and how these waves can influence space weather, greatly advancing our understanding of Earth’s atmosphere.