The MATS satellite: Mission update and 3-D mesospheric temperatures

The MATS (Mesospheric Airglow/Aerosol Tomography and Spectroscopy) mission is a Swedish satellite mission designed to study atmospheric gravity waves the mesopause region. MATS was launched in November 2022 and carries a limb-imaging instrument that observes the Earth’s atmosphere in the altitude range from approximately 70 to 110 km and a nadir camera. The primary observables are airglow emissions in the O₂ A-band and ultraviolet light scattered by noctilucent clouds.

The limb instrument is a telescope that continuously images the atmospheric limb in six spectral channels: four channels in the near-infrared targeting the airglow, and two ultraviolet channels dedicated to noctilucent cloud observations. By exploiting limb geometry and multi-view sampling along the orbit, MATS enables tomographic reconstruction of three-dimensional atmospheric structures. The airglow measurements yield a high–vertical-resolution 3-D temperature product, allowing characterization of individual gravity waves, while the ultraviolet observations enable reconstruction of the spatial distribution and characteristics of noctilucent clouds.

This presentation will focus on the newly completed 3-D mesospheric temperature data set derived from the MATS airglow measurements. We will describe the tomographic retrieval, the characteristics and coverage of the temperature product. If available, early validation results will be presented.

The presentation will also provide an update on the current status of the MATS mission, which after severe technical and regulatory challenges since 2023, is expected to resume operations in February 2026.