The mesosphere is a layer of the atmosphere in an altitude range of approximately 50-80km. Whilst the mass of the mesosphere is relatively very small, it is an important component of the climate system. Changes in the circulation and composition of the lower atmosphere may, for example, become evident through changes in the mesosphere. The recently launched MATS satellite will make valuable observations of mesospheric characteristics and this paper reports early observations of the oxygen airglow in particular. The global-scale structures in the airglow give valuable information on large-scale mesospheric dynamics.