Reference atmospheric model

Imagine you’re playing with toy airplanes, but instead of using your hands to make them fly, you’re trying to predict how high they will go if you throw them in the air. But this isn’t just any airplane – it’s a special airplane that can fly through the air around the Earth. That means that the higher you throw it, the thinner the air around it becomes.

Scientists need to understand how high the airplane can go, and what the air around it will be like at different heights. They use something called a “reference atmospheric model” to help them.

Think of it like a big, imaginary wall of air around the Earth that scientists have carefully studied and measured. This wall is divided into different layers, and each layer has different properties – like how dense the air is, what the temperature is, and how much pressure there is.

The reference atmospheric model gives scientists a way to predict what the air will be like at different heights, without having to actually measure every single layer of air around the Earth. It’s kind of like having a map of the atmosphere.

Using this model, scientists can figure out how high an airplane can fly, how fast it will go, and how much fuel it will need. They can also use the model to help design spacecraft that will travel through the upper atmosphere and beyond.

In short, a reference atmospheric model helps scientists “see” what the atmosphere is like at different heights, so they can make better predictions and design better airplanes and spacecraft.