AIM Polar Mesospheric Cloud Satellite 3D Model

AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere), the satellite launched in 2007 to study polar mesospheric clouds, Earth's highest clouds, which form about 80 kilometres up over the polar regions. The model shows the eight-sided white body with gold trim, camera heads on the top deck, a cylindrical port with a gold face, a short mast and a fan of six blue solar panels.

Technical details: about 132,000 polygons and 78,000 vertices, with 29 colour materials and no image textures. The mesh is moderately dense, so decimate it before mobile or VR use. It is scaled to 5 metres for AiZity's catalogue scale.

The download includes GLB for web viewers and three.js, FBX for Unity, Unreal Engine and Maya, OBJ as a widely supported mesh, and BLEND for Blender. AiZity cleaned up the original (centred, grounded and renamed the parts) and converted it to these formats.

Good for atmospheric science lessons, noctilucent cloud explainers, Earth observation animations and satellite fleet scenes.

License: Public domain, made by NASA/Christopher R. Meaney (a U.S. government work). Free for personal and commercial use; please credit NASA. NASA logos and insignia are not included, and use must not suggest NASA endorsement.