ARES Observatory

Back at the home base, establishing the vacuum again during warmup.

Mission MAJORITY is completed: nicely diffuse!

We are getting ready for Operation MAJORITY.
The clear weather of today is expected to be replaced by cloud layers tomorrow.

We are tracking the WX again for our final mission of 2025: flying a scene under full cloud coverage.

OP ECMWF
1 OCT: Build-in AVIRIS-4
2 OCT: Fly Thun, Build-out

OP GFS
2 OCT: Build-in AVIRIS-4
3 OCT: Fly Thun, Build-out

ARES will be attending an event about “Data Technologies for the Humanities and Social Sciences” on 22nd October.
Come and see us there to discuss what our platform can do for you.

We have just published a new article about the FloX instrument calibration and its sensitivity. This may be of interest to all who use these instruments for measurements in their own right, or for spectral ground control in combination with airborne acquisitions.

opg.optica.org/ao/fulltext....

TA Call 2: Super-integrated Lighthouse Call HomeAQUARIUS Transnational Access Call 1 (closed)AQUARIUS Transnational Access Call 2Eligibility criteriaIntegration of infrastructures    How to apply    Evaluation and selection procedure  Expert…

AQUARIUS Funding Call – Marine and Freshwater Infrastructure Access

ARES is part of the AQUARIUS infrastructure available for water research.
Please head to the AQUARIUS webpage to learn more about this call (Open from 2 September 2025 – 28 October 2025).

aquarius-ri.eu/ta-call-2-su...

The orthorectified product of our first non-linear flight over the Aletsch Glacier does look promising, apart from the clouds that were present at the time. Activation of the stabilising platform and improved use of avionics for polyline handling may result in smoother results in the future.

AVIRIS-4 is transferring back to Switzerland; goodbye Denmark, till the next time! 🇩🇰

Åmosen mission is completed!
Thanks to the ground team for the WX updates!

AVIRIS-4 is airborne again, establishing on line 30. Area is clear!

Mission stopped now due to clouds. AVIRIS-4 returns to Roskilde for refueling and monitoring the weather for another sortie.

Lines 20-29 are remaining.
Lines 19 and 30 will ideally be repeated.

Line 16 done, now we got some clouds just to the E of us; we switch now to the Eastern lines as there the area is clear.

We have completed the crossline # 42, now doing line 13 near Lake Tissø.

Will continue working to the E from here.

AVIRIS-4 is operational again and we aim at starting imaging in the West around 1015 LT.

Skies are currently cristal clear (0/8).

Pressure keeps going down, the sensor is cooling down!
We should be operational again in about 3 hours from now. Planning to start imaging over Åmosen around 1015 LT.

AVIRIS-4 rescue mission is completed!

The spare vacuum hose is doing the job and the pressure vessel is approaching nominal values again 🎉

WX FCST and FLT Plans till 21 AUG

We are experiencing vacuum pump issues and are taking actions to fix this till MON.

SUN 17: Sensor maintenance
MON 18: DNK
TUE 19: -
WED 20: DNK backup or XFER LSGC, likely build-out
THU 21: Thun 8/8 ?

We have almost completed the western block; now sun angles are getting too low and a denser layer of cirrus is approaching.
We finish up with the cross-lines for LIDAR calibration.

Imaging has started on Åmosen mission, sky clear above, some convective clouds to the East.

AVIRIS-4 is en route to Aamosen area, about 170 NM to go.

WX clearing up is we proceed north.

Pre-FLT preparations

WX Assessment and FLT Plan for SAT 16th AUG

0900 - 1100 LT: XFER LSGC - EDDE
1100 - 1230 LT: Refuel with GPU
1230 LT: T/O, XFER to DNK area for ~1.5 h imaging, then landing in EKRK

WX FCST and FLT Plans till 21 AUG

SAT 16: XFER DNK, DNK IMG in PM
SUN 17: DNK
MON 18: DNK
TUE 19: DNK backup
WED 20: XFER LSGC, likely build-out
THU 21: Thun 8/8 ?

WX FCST and FLT Plans till 21 AUG

FRI 15: Aletsch/Blatten -> Done!
SAT 16: XFER DNK, DNK IMG in PM
SUN 17: DNK
MON 18: DNK
TUE 19: DNK backup
WED 20: XFER LSGC, likely build-out
THU 21: Thun 8/8 ?

Note: Thun 8/8 not possible with rainy conditions

Aletsch at FL190 completed with top 2/3 imaged under clear conditions.
Special polyline acquisition is next at FL150.

We are shortening the lines, doing only the northern part that is cloud free.

Tricky conditions for Aletsch with cloud shadows over the lower reaches of the ice.

We may have to abort before doing all lines if the convection worsens.

Blatten mission has started under clear conditions.

We are preparing for Blatten and Aletsch missions. WX looks good for the morning. Estimating image start at 1000 local.