The Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB) (, ) is a Belgian federal scientific research institute. Created in 1964, its main tasks are research and public service in space aeronomy, which is the physics and chemistry of the

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

of the Earth and other planets, and of outer space. The scientists rely on ground-based, balloon-, air- or space-borne instruments and computer models.

History

On 25 November 1964 the Aeronomical Service is separated from the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) and lives on as a scientific institution of the state with the name: Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB). In 2014, BIRA-IASB celebrates its 50th anniversary and gains its royal statute. On this occasion, the Institute gathere
50 important events in its history
The institute has as main competence, tasks of public service and research in the domain of Space Aeronomy. BIRA-IASB mostly works with data acquired via rockets and artificial satellites for research to the physical and chemical structure of the higher

and extraterrestrial

space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...

. The first director was M. Nicolet. the director general ad interim is Martine De Mazière.

Activities

BIRA-IASB * focuses on Chemistry & Physics of

Atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

s and Space Plasma Physics * designs and builds instruments to monitor atmospheres and the

space environment Space environment is a branch of astronautics, aerospace engineering and space physics that seeks to understand and address conditions existing in space that affect the design and operation of spacecraft. A related subject, space weather, deals wit ...

* operates Belgian experiments on board the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...

and other

satellites A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scientif ...

* participates in international measurement programmes * compares observations with numerical simulations to validate and improve our knowledge * turns scientific know-how into services to the benefit of society * disseminates this knowledge through publications, web services and public outreach.

Chemistry and physics of atmospheres

BIRA-IASB studies the Earth's

stratosphere The stratosphere () is the second-lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth, located above the troposphere and below the mesosphere. The stratosphere is composed of stratified temperature zones, with the warmer layers of air located higher ...

by looking at

ozone depletion Ozone depletion consists of two related events observed since the late 1970s: a lowered total amount of ozone in Earth, Earth's upper atmosphere, and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone (the ozone layer) around Earth's polar ...

and related key parameters like volcanic

aerosols An aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in air or another gas. Aerosols can be generated from natural or human causes. The term ''aerosol'' commonly refers to the mixture of particulates in air, and not to t ...

, polar stratospheric clouds and

halogenated In chemistry, halogenation is a chemical reaction which introduces one or more halogens into a chemical compound. Halide-containing compounds are pervasive, making this type of transformation important, e.g. in the production of polymers, drugs ...

compounds. Long-term changes are evaluated and forecasting capabilities have been developed. The research supports the

Montreal Protocol The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion. It was agreed on 16 ...

on the protection of the

ozone layer The ozone layer or ozone shield is a region of Earth's stratosphere that absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs most of the Sun's ultraviolet radiation. It contains a high concentration of ozone (O3) in relation to other parts of the a ...

. BIRA-IASB also studies Earth

tropospheric The troposphere is the lowest layer of the atmosphere of Earth. It contains 80% of the total mass of the planetary atmosphere and 99% of the total mass of water vapor and aerosols, and is where most weather phenomena occur. From the planetary s ...

chemistry, with a focus on natural and manmade emissions, like SO₂ and NO₂,

tropospheric ozone Ground-level ozone (), also known as surface-level ozone and tropospheric ozone, is a trace gas in the troposphere (the lowest level of the Earth's atmosphere), with an average concentration of 20–30 parts per billion by volume (ppbv), with clo ...

precursors, the relationship to

air quality Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

and the evolution of

greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the gases in the atmosphere that raise the surface temperature of planets such as the Earth. Unlike other gases, greenhouse gases absorb the radiations that a planet emits, resulting in the greenhouse effect. T ...

in support of the

Kyoto Protocol The was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is oc ...

. Forecasting of chemical weather is being developed. BIRA-IASB examines the

solar radiation Sunlight is the portion of the electromagnetic radiation which is emitted by the Sun (i.e. solar radiation) and received by the Earth, in particular the visible light perceptible to the human eye as well as invisible infrared (typically p ...

and its penetration to the surfaces of the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

. It monitors the long-term changes of the

UV radiation Ultraviolet radiation, also known as simply UV, is electromagnetic radiation of wavelengths of 10–400 nanometers, shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation is present in sunlight and constitutes about 10% of t ...

. BIRA-IASB also contributes to research on planetary atmospheres, in particular

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

and

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

Space plasma physics

The

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

fills interplanetary space with plasma, a gas of charged particles, in the form of a constant

solar wind The solar wind is a stream of charged particles released from the Sun's outermost atmospheric layer, the Stellar corona, corona. This Plasma (physics), plasma mostly consists of electrons, protons and alpha particles with kinetic energy betwee ...

. Also the Earth's outer atmosphere, the

magnetosphere In astronomy and planetary science, a magnetosphere is a region of space surrounding an astronomical object in which charged particles are affected by that object's magnetic field. It is created by a celestial body with an active interior Dynamo ...

, is filled with plasma, just like the environments of many other

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

objects. The Institute has built a strong theory and modeling programme, deeply rooted in observations provided by ESA's space missions, Ulysses,

Cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere * Asteroid cluster, a small ...

and

Rosetta Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, R ...

spacecraft. BIRA-IASB has extensive expertise in: *The dynamic behavior of the outer magnetospheric boundary in response to the variable solar wind, which controls the energy input from the solar wind into the magnetosphere. *The interaction between the outer magnetosphere and the corotating plasma in the inner magnetosphere. *The coupling between the magnetosphere and the

ionosphere The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays ...

as manifested by the

aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

or polar lights These modeling efforts help to mitigate the empiricism still prevailing in present-day

space weather Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the varying conditions within the Solar System and its heliosphere. This includes the effects of the solar wind, especially on the Earth's magnetosphere, ion ...

forecasting.

Services

BIRA-IASB provides products and services that fulfill needs of the user community. * Solar

UV index The ultraviolet index, or UV index, is an international standard measurement of the strength of the sunburn-producing ultraviolet (UV) radiation at a particular place and time. It is primarily used in daily and hourly forecasts aimed at the gener ...

for the public * Assessments of the state of the atmosphere to support policy makers * Accumulated ionising radiation dose predictions for the space industry Services related to the Earth's atmosphere include stratospheric ozone forecasting, air quality global analysis and prediction, volcanic emission warnings, satellite data validation and tropospheric emission monitoring. These services will be integrated in international initiatives like the European led GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security). In the domain of

Space Weather Space weather is a branch of space physics and aeronomy, or heliophysics, concerned with the varying conditions within the Solar System and its heliosphere. This includes the effects of the solar wind, especially on the Earth's magnetosphere, ion ...

BIRA-IASB focuses on ionising space radiation and its effects. These services are exploited in the context of the Belgian Solar-Terrestrial Centre of Excellence. Tools, methods and procedures are set up to deliver these services to the user community (

European Space Weather portal The European Space Weather Portal (ESWeP) results from the COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) action 724 (''Developing the basis for monitoring, modelling and predicting Space Weather''). ESWeP is a website providing a centraliz ...

). BIRA-IASB, through the Belgian User Support and Operation Centre (BUSOC), provides support and infrastructure to scientific teams to prepare, develop and operate space experiments. BUSOC is the operations center for the Solar Monitoring Observatory on board the

and the scientific mission center for the

CNES CNES () is the French national space agency. Headquartered in central Paris, the agency is overseen by the ministries of the Armed Forces, Economy and Finance and Higher Education, Research and Innovation. It operates from the Toulouse Spac ...

solar observation satellite PICARD.

References

What is BIRA-IASB?

50 important events in the 50 years of BIRA-IASB history

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Belgian Institute For Space Aeronomy Scientific organisations based in Belgium Science and technology in Belgium Space weather