UHU - another experiment to observe lightning and TLEs from the ISS

Several successful attempts have been made so far to utilize the uninterrupted view on the atmosphere from space and discover yet undocumented features of lightning activity and transient luminous events (TLEs), most recently THOR and ILAN-ES (2022-2024). As Hungary is considering sending an astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2025, an experiment has been proposed that aims at further enriching the existing set of space-borne targeted observations of nighttime electrical phenomena in the atmosphere. This is to be accomplished by an optical camera which is directed to preselected thunderstorm targets by the astronaut. This would be the UHU experiment which has been named after the Eurasian eagle-owl, a nighttime predator bird known for its extremely silent flight and exceptionally sharp eyes. The experiment is planned to be supported by a ground-based global observation and data collection campaign. One utterly desired achievement of the experiment and the accompanying observation campaign would be obtaining optical records of one or more TLEs taken simultaneously from the ISS and from a ground location. The experiment would also serve to elevate public awareness about the benefits of monitoring atmospheric electric parameters in studying the atmosphere and the near-Earth space environment. In this contribution, the motivation and the scientific aims behind organizing yet another TLE observation experiment from the ISS are presented and planning of the experiment as well as the supporting observation campaign are described.