TOTEM: The Top of Thunderstorms Experimental Module

TOTEM is a payload for observation of the fast processes of electrical activity at the top of thunderstorm clouds and for evaluation of a new camera technology with high time resolution and dynamic range, yet with low weight, data rate and power consumption. The Atmosphere-Space Interactions Module (ASIM) on the International Space Station (2018- ) discovered high levels of blue electrical corona activity in thunderstorm cloud tops reaching into the stratosphere. The discharges represent a new pathway of perturbations to greenhouse gas concentrations at high altitudes, which affect the atmosphere's radiative properties up to 5 times more than in the lower troposphere.  However, the altitude of events and clouds are poorly resolved with the nadir-pointing instruments of ASIM. With instruments pointing at a slanted angle, TOTEM will measure the activity – and the cloud structure where they are found – with < 300 m altitude resolution to understand their regional and global impact on greenhouse gas concentrations. The instruments include neuromorphic cameras that allow image reconstruction at up to 100.000 frames per second. TOTEM is developed by an international network of scientists and engineers. It is studied under a contract with ESA. TOTEM can be implemented on the International Space Station (ISS) or other low-Earth Orbit platforms.