For the first time in more than a decade, five NASA Earth science missions
will be launched into space in the same year, opening new and improved remote
eyes to monitor our changing planet.
The five launches, including two to the International Space Station (ISS),
are part of an active year for NASA Earth science researchers, who also will
conduct airborne campaigns to the poles and hurricanes, develop advanced sensor
technologies, and use satellite data and analytical tools to improve natural
hazard and climate change preparedness.
The first new NASA Earth science mission of 2014 is
the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a joint
international project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). Launch
is scheduled for Feb. 27 from Japan.
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satellites, aircraft, and research help scientists and policymakers find answers
to critical challenges facing our planet, including climate change, sea level
rise, decreasing availability of fresh water, and extreme weather events.
"As NASA prepares for future missions to an asteroid and Mars, we’re focused
on Earth right now," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "With five new
missions set to launch in 2014, this really is shaping up to be the year of the
Earth, and this focus on our home planet will make a significant difference in
people’s lives around the world."
The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)-2, set to
launch in July, will make precise, global measurements of carbon dioxide, the
greenhouse gas that is the largest human-generated contributor to global
warming.
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The first
NASA Earth science mission of 2014 is the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)
Core Observatory, a joint satellite project with the Japan Aerospace Exploration
Agency (JAXA). The mission inaugurates an unprecedented international satellite
constellation that will produce the first nearly global observations of rainfall
and snowfall. This new information will help answer questions about our planet's
life-sustaining water cycle, and improve water resource management and weather
forecasting.
The GPM Core Observatory is scheduled to launch on Feb. 27 from JAXA's
Tanegashima Space Center on a Japanese H-IIA rocket. The spacecraft was built at
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
In July, NASA will launch a mission to advance our understanding of carbon
dioxide's role in climate change. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)-2, a
replacement for a mission lost after a launch vehicle failure in 2009, will make
precise, global measurements of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas that is the
largest human-generated contributor to global warming. OCO-2 observations will
be used to improve understanding of the natural and human-induced sources of
carbon dioxide and how these emissions cycle through Earth's oceans, land and
atmosphere.
NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission
will track Earth's water into one of its last hiding places: the soil. SMAP soil
moisture data will aid in predictions of agricultural productivity, weather and
climate. SMAP is scheduled to launch in November.
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OCO-2,
managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif., will
launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a Delta II rocket.
With the November launch of NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)
mission, NASA will track Earth's water into one of its last hiding places: the
soil. SMAP will map Earth's soil moisture, and provide precise indications of
the soil's freeze-thaw state, to improve understanding of the cycling of water,
energy, and carbon. High-resolution global maps of soil moisture produced from
SMAP data will inform water resource management decisions on water availability
around our planet. SMAP data also will aid in predictions of plant growth and
agricultural productivity, weather and climate forecasts, and monitoring floods
and droughts.
The first of two 2014 Earth science missions to the
International Space Station, ISS-RapidScat will extend the data record of ocean
winds around the globe, a key factor in climate research and weather
forecasting. ISS-Rapidscat is set to launch in June.
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SMAP will
launch from Vandenberg onboard a Delta II rocket. JPL manages the mission.
"On our home planet Earth, water is an essential requirement for life and for
most human activities. We must understand the details of how water moves within
and between the atmosphere, the oceans, and the land if we are to predict
changes to our climate and the availability of water resources," said Michael
Freilich, director of NASA's Earth Science Division in Washington. "Coupled with
data from other ongoing NASA missions that measure sea-surface salinity and that
detect changes in underground aquifer levels, with GPM and SMAP we will have
unprecedented measurements of our planet's vital water cycle."
The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS)
instrument shown here uses three-wavelength lasers to extend satellite
observations of small particles in the atmosphere. CATS is scheduled to launch
in September on a SpaceX ISS commercial resupply flight.
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Two Earth
science missions will be sent to the International Space Station this year to
measure ocean winds, clouds, and aerosols, marking NASA's first use of the
orbiting laboratory as a 24/7 Earth-observing platform. The new instruments are
the first of a series that will observe Earth routinely from the orbiting
laboratory.
The space station has served as a unique platform advancing scientific
research and technological discovery for more than 13 years. Its mid-inclination
orbit allows for observations at all local times over nearly 85 percent of
Earth's surface. NASA plans to launch five Earth-observing instruments to the
ISS through 2017. These missions are developed and operated jointly by the
International Space Station Program and the Earth Science Division.
ISS-RapidScat, scheduled to launch to the station June 6, will extend the
data record of ocean winds around the globe. These data are a key factor in
climate research, weather and marine forecasting, and tracking of storms and
hurricanes. Using inherited, repurposed hardware, ISS-RapidScat will provide
high-value science at a fraction of the typical cost of developing a free-flying
satellite. ISS-Rapidscat will fly to the station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket
and Dragon cargo spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on a
commercial resupply flight for the ISS.
NASA's Global Hawk (pictured here) and a fleet of
aircraft equipped with sophisticated sensors will fly 12 NASA campaigns around
the world in 2014. From Antarctica to the Arctic, airborne scientists will study
polar ice sheets, urban air pollution, hurricanes and more.
Image Credit: NASA/Tony Landis
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The new Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) is a technology demonstration mission using three-wavelength lasers to extend satellite observations of small particles in the atmosphere from volcanoes, air pollution, dust, and smoke. These aerosol particles pose human health risks at ground level and influence global climate through their impact on cloud cover and solar radiation in Earth's atmosphere. CATS is scheduled to launch Sept. 12 on another SpaceX ISS commercial resupply flight from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
"With these two instruments launching to the space station, ISS will come
into its own as an important platform for studying the Earth system and global
change," said Julie Robinson, space station chief scientist at NASA's Johnson
Space Center in Houston. "This is just the beginning of the space station
becoming a part of the global Earth-observing network."
NASA also uses a wide array of research aircraft equipped with sophisticated
sensors to advance Earth science research. This year, NASA is sponsoring 12
flight campaigns that will study the polar ice sheets, urban air pollution,
hurricanes, ecosystem health and more over the United States, Central and South
America, Antarctica, and the Arctic Circle.
Putting satellite data to work meeting local and regional needs around the
world is another part of NASA's Earth science mission. In 2014, projects
sponsored by the NASA Applied Sciences Program will tackle ecosystem issues in
the Gulf of Mexico, water scarcity in the U.S. Southwest, and flood management
in the Mekong River delta.
NASA continues to push the boundaries of current technologies to find new
ways to see our complex planet in more detail and with greater accuracy. This
year, NASA's Earth Science Technology Office will test new sensors to improve
measurements of water levels in lakes and reservoirs, carbon dioxide,
terrestrial ecosystems, and natural hazards such as earthquakes and
tsunamis.
NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of
satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA
develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems
with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our
planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global
community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world
that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.
For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014,
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For information on the latest NASA Earth science findings, visit:
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Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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