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sábado, 6 de septiembre de 2014

NASA : International Global Precipitation Measurement Mission Data Goes Public

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Image Credit:

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Feature Link:

Download this video in HD formats from NASA Goddard's Scientific Visualization Studio

The most accurate and comprehensive collection of rain, snowfall and other types of precipitation data ever assembled now is available to the public. This new resource for climate studies, weather forecasting, and other applications is based on observations by the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a joint mission of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), with contributions from a constellation of international partner satellites.

The GPM Core Observatory, launched from Japan on Feb. 27, carries two advanced instruments to measure rainfall, snowfall, ice and other precipitation. The advanced and precise data from the GPM Core Observatory are used to unify and standardize precipitation observations from other constellation satellites to produce the GPM mission data. These data are freely available through NASA's Precipitation Processing System at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

"We are very pleased to make all these data available to scientists and other users within six months of launch," said Ramesh Kakar, GPM program scientist in the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters, Washington.

One of the first storms observed by the NASA/JAXA GPM Core Observatory on March 17, 2014, in the eastern United States revealed a full range of precipitation, from rain to snow.

Image Credit:

NASA/JAXA

In addition to NASA and JAXA, the GPM mission includes satellites from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, Indian Space Research Organisation, and France's Centre National d’Études Spatiales.

Instruments on the GPM Core Observatory and partner satellites measure energy naturally emitted by liquid and frozen precipitation. Scientists use computer programs to convert these data into estimates of rain and snowfall. The individual instruments on the partner satellites collect similar data, but the absolute numbers for precipitation observed over the same location may not be exactly the same. The GPM Core Observatory's data are used as a reference standard to smooth out the individual differences, like a principal violinist tuning the individual instruments in an orchestra. The result is data that are consistent with each other and can be meaningfully compared.
With the higher sensitivity to different types of precipitation made possible by the GPM Core Observatory's Microwave Imager (GMI) and Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), scientists can for the first time accurately measure the full range of precipitation from heavy rain to light rain and snow. The instruments are designed not only to detect rain and snow in the clouds, but to measure the size and distribution of the rain particles and snowflakes. This information gives scientists a better estimate of water content and a new perspective on winter storms, especially near the poles where the majority of precipitation is snowfall.

"With this GPM mission data, we can now see snow in a way we could not before," said Gail Skofronick-Jackson, GPM project scientist at Goddard Space Flight Center. "Cloud tops high in the atmosphere have ice in them. If the Earth’s surface is above freezing, it melts into rain as it falls. But in some parts of the world, it's cold enough that the ice and snow falls all the way to the ground."

One of the first storms observed by the GPM Core Observatory on March 17 in the eastern United States showed that full range of precipitation. Heavy rains fell over the North and South Carolina coasts. As the storm moved northward, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland and Washington were covered with snow. The GMI observed an 547 mile- (880 kilometer) wide track of precipitation on the surface, while the DPR imaged every 820 feet (250 meters) vertically to get the three-dimensional structure of the rain and snowfall layer by layer inside the clouds.

"What's really clear in these images is the melting layer, the place in the atmosphere where ice turns into rain," said Skofronick-Jackson. "The melting layer is one part of the precipitation process that scientists don’t know well because it is in such a narrow part of the cloud and changes quickly. Understanding the small scale details within the melting layer helps us better understand the precipitation process."

The combined snowfall and rainfall measurements from GPM will fill in the picture of where and how water moves throughout the global water cycle.

"Scientists and modelers can use the new GPM data for weather forecasts, estimating snowpack accumulation for freshwater resources, flood and landslide prediction, or tracking hurricanes," Skofronick-Jackson said. "This revolutionary information also gives us a better grasp of how storms and precipitating systems form and evolve around the planet, providing climate modelers insight into how precipitation might change in a changing climate."

GPM data are freely available to registered users from Goddard's Precipitation Processing System (PPS) website. The data sets are currently available in strips called swaths that correspond to the satellites' overpasses. Daily and monthly, global maps are also available from all the sensors. In the coming months, the PPS will merge this instrument data from all partner satellites and the Core Observatory into a seamless map that shows global rain and snow data at a 6-mile (10-kilometer) resolution every 30 minutes.

The GPM Core Observatory was the first of five scheduled NASA Earth science missions launching within a year. 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 also 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 freely 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, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

For more information about GPM, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/gpm

To access the newly released data, visit:

http://pmm.nasa.gov/data-Access

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

Inscríbete en el Foro del blog y participa : A Vuelo De Un Quinde - El Foro!

martes, 10 de junio de 2014

NASA: NASA Announces Two Upcoming Undersea Missions

Developing and Testing Planetary Sample Collection Techniques

NEEMO 13 Aquanauts collect and document samples.

Image Credit:

NASA

The Importance of Planetary Sample Returns

Dr. Mary Sue Bell of NASA's Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science Directorate explains why it's important to help astronauts develop sample collection techniques during NASA's analog missions.

Why are planetary sample returns so important?

Planetary science has seen a tremendous growth in new knowledge as a result of recent NASA robotic missions that have detected deposits of water-ice at the moon's poles and potential conditions under which life could have flourished on Mars.

While some sophisticated data can be derived from "in situ" measurements taken by rovers and satellites, returned planetary samples allow scientists on Earth to use latest technologies available to maximize the scientific return. The science community has recently seen compelling sample returns, including solar wind particles (NASA's Genesis), comet particles (NASA's Stardust) asteroid particles (JAXA's Hayabusa) and Antarctic meteorites, which scientists collect each Austral summer.

The National Research Council Decadal Study of 2011 recommended that NASA's chief scientific goal should be to return samples from Mars by 2023. Measurements taken by the MER rovers Spirit and Opportunity indicate that Mars had a warmer and wetter climate early in Mars history – conditions in which scientists believe life could have formed on early Mars. But chemical evidence of life in materials like the rocky regolith of Mars can be quite small and difficult for robotic geologists to detect and measure.

The Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) directorate at NASA's Johnson Space Center curates all of NASA's "extraterrestrial" samples. The ARES directorate mission is to protect, preserve, and distribute samples for study from the Moon, Mars, and interplanetary space in support of solar system exploration. These sample collections include lunar rocks and regolith returned by the Apollo missions.

Samples from Mars will require special handling protocols from the time the sample collection site is chosen through documentation, encapsulation, and transport to Earth and to NASA's curation facility for allocation to scientist for analysis and study. Because scientists don't yet know how to differentiate an Earth-derived sample of life from a Mars-derived sample of life, scientists are eager to develop protocols that will protect Mars samples from Earth contamination. Landers, collection tools and sample containers could all carry trace amounts of Earthly biology, so must be equipped with decontamination materials and procedures to protect the precious samples.

A NEEMO Aquanaut tests sample collection tools in the reduced gravity underwater environment.

Image Credit: NASA

How do NASA's analog missions, like NEEMO, help scientists develop special sample handling techniques for their exploration programs?

Planetary environments are considered extreme for both robotic and human exploration. Apollo astronauts experienced lower gravity on the moon than on Earth and a very thin atmosphere that required them to wear a space suit with life protection and support systems. When they collected moon rocks, the astronauts didn't know if they were exposing themselves to health hazards, so they wore large bulky gloves and used special sample collection tools and containers. These protective materials and special sample devices were developed in laboratories at Johnson Space Center and then tested in the field by geologists. After the sampling tools and techniques were sufficiently refined, Apollo astronauts were trained to use the techniques developed by the scientists.

Today, ARES scientists are developing tools and techniques for use on planetary surfaces with the same life support requirements and gravity conditions for human exploration as on the moon or Mars but lower gravity environments like near-Earth asteroids as well. Low gravity environments present special obstacles for collecting and containing geologic materials because loose material can drift away and an astronaut can be propelled away from a planetary surface just by hitting a rock with a hammer. NASA's Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) is an undersea research facility that allows humans to experience reduced gravity due to the buoyancy provided by water in an environment requiring life support for breathing air. During NEEMO 16, NASA can refine sample collection techniques in an extreme environment and train astronauts to use tools and procedures developed for those unique conditions.

NASA develops tools and techniques during analog missions to ensure the scientific integrity of samples returned from a variety of planetary surfaces both by robots and by human explorers. NASA's returned samples will help scientists understand the formation and evolution of the solar system and determine if life or the conditions for life existed on other plantary bodies. These returned samples will be curated for future generations and allow them to employ advanced techniques not yet available to scientific researchers.

How does this Analog activity fit with NASA's current mission plans?

Aquanauts test and develop surface operations.

Image Credit: NASA

NASA is actively planning to expand the horizons of human space exploration, and with the Space Launch System and the Orion crew vehicle, humans will soon have the ability to travel beyond low Earth orbit. That opens up a solar system of possibilities, and NASA's goal is to send humans to explore an asteroid by 2025. Other destinations may include the moon or Mars and its moons.

Regardless of the destination, the work must start now. NASA is developing the technologies and systems to transport explorers to multiple destinations, each with its own unique – and extreme – space environment. Because sample return requirements are mission specific, the handling protocols are designed specifically for the types of questions the scientific community hopes to answer using samples from a particular planetary destination. ARES curation scientists are in collaboration with the mission architecture engineers to develop mission goals that are aligned with the science goals. ARES scientist participate in analog missions for protocol development and science operations development from mission conception to execution and sample return to ensure that the requirements of the scientific community will be met and the scientific return to the public will be maximized.

NASA Announces Two Upcoming Undersea Missions

NASA is returning to the bottom of the ocean. Twice this summer, aquanauts participating in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) will conduct activities on the ocean floor that will inform future International Space Station and exploration activities.

These studies provide information that correlates directly to life aboard the space station, where crew members must frequently perform critical tasks that present constraining factors similar to those experienced in an undersea environment.

“It is both challenging and exciting for our astronaut crews to participate in these undersea missions in preparation for spaceflight,” says Bill Todd, NEEMO project manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. “It is critical that we perform science applicable to NASA’s exploration goals in a high-fidelity space operational context. The extreme environment of life undersea is as close to being in space as possible.”

NEEMO 18, a nine-day mission beginning July 21, will focus on studies in behavioral health and performance, human health issues, and habitability. Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will command NEEMO 18. He will be joined by NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mark Vande Hei and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet.

NEEMO 19, which begins Sept. 7 and runs seven days, will focus on the evaluation of tele-mentoring operations for ESA. Telementoring is when a crew member is given instruction for a task by an expert who is located remotely but is virtually present via a video and voice connection. NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik will command this second mission. He will be joined by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and Herve Stevenin, ESA’s Head of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Training at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany.

Both NEEMO missions will include EVA objectives and engineering investigations to mature technologies and training techniques for use on the space station and in asteroid exploration. These EVAs will focus on evaluating man-machine work systems and EVA tools and techniques for exploration tasks in varying levels of gravity ranging from that of asteroids to the gravity of Martian moons and Mars itself. The EVAs also will evaluate techniques to address re-planning of exploration operations accounting for different communications time delays.

The missions also will investigate tools to help astronauts learn new procedures while in flight. One such tool for the "just in time training" that is delivered to the crew in orbit is "intuitive procedures." These procedures use a combination of text, pictures, and videos to instruct the crew on how to perform a task that they were never trained on, and are presented in a way such that the crew understands it quickly.

The NEEMO crews will live 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, 5.4 nautical miles off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, in Florida International University’s undersea research habitat Aquarius Reef Base, along with two professional habitat technicians.

To request interviews with the NEEMO 18 or 19 crews during their mission, contact William Jeffs of NASA at

william.p.jeffs@nasa.gov,

Toshitami Ikeda or Fuki Taniguchi of JAXA at

ikeda.toshitami@jaxa.jp or

taniguchi.fuki@jaxa.jp, Rosita Suenson of ESA at

rosita.suenson@esa.int, or the CSA media relations team at

media@asc-csa.gc.ca.

For more information about NEEMO, the crews and links to follow the missions on Facebook and Twitter, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/neemo

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@Hotmail.com

Inscríbete en el Foro del blog y participa : A Vuelo De Un Quinde - El Foro!

martes, 25 de marzo de 2014

NASA : First Images Available from NASA-JAXA Global Rain and Snowfall Satellite

Youtube Override:

On March 10, the Core Observatory passed over an extra-tropical cyclone about 1,055 miles (1,700 kilometers) due east of Japan's Honshu Island. Satellite data shows the full range of precipitation in the storm.

Image Credit:

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Feature Link:

Five new NASA Earth science missions are launching in 2014 to expand our understanding of Earth’s changing climate and environment.

Feature Link:

NASA's "Earth Right Now" website

satellite flys over earth, recording a swath of colorized data over a cyclone

An extra-tropical cyclone seen off the coast of Japan, March 10, 2014, by the GPM Microwave Imager. The colors show the rain rate: red areas indicate heavy rainfall, while yellow and blue indicate less intense rainfall. The upper left blue areas indicate falling snow.

A satellite swath over a Pacific storm transforms gray clouds into colors

On March 10 the Core Observatory passed over an extra-tropical cyclone about 1,055 miles (1,700 km) east of Japan's Honshu Island. Formed when a cold air mass wrapped around a warm air mass near Okinawa on March 8, it moved NE drawing cold air over Japan before weakening over the North Pacific.

Image Credit:

NASA/JAXA

drawn storm clouds over a color-swatch style display of GPM data

The GMI instrument has 13 channels, each sensitive to different types of precipitation. Channels for heavy rain, mixed rain and snow, and snowfall are displayed of the extra-tropical cyclone observed March 10, off the coast of Japan. Multiple channels capture the full range of precipitation.

Image Credit:

NASA/JAXA

NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have released the first images captured by their newest Earth-observing satellite, the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, which launched into space Feb. 27.

The images show precipitation falling inside a March 10 cyclone over the northwest Pacific Ocean, approximately 1,000 miles east of Japan. The data were collected by the GPM Core Observatory's two instruments: JAXA's Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), which imaged a three-dimensional cross-section of the storm; and, NASA's GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), which observed precipitation across a broad swath.

"It was really exciting to see this high-quality GPM data for the first time," said GPM project scientist Gail Skofronick-Jackson at NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "I knew we had entered a new era in measuring precipitation from space. We now can measure global precipitation of all types, from light drizzle to heavy downpours to falling snow."

The satellite's capabilities are apparent in the first images of the cyclone. Cyclones such as the one imaged -- an extra-tropical cyclone -- occur when masses of warm air collide with masses of cold air north or south of the tropics. These storm systems can produce rain, snow, ice, high winds, and other severe weather. In these first images, the warm front ahead of the cyclone shows a broad area of precipitation -- in this case, rain -- with a narrower band of precipitation associated with the cold front trailing to the southwest. Snow is seen falling in the northern reaches of the storm.

The GMI instrument has 13 channels that measure natural energy radiated by Earth's surface and also by precipitation itself. Liquid raindrops and ice particles affect the microwave energy differently, so each channel is sensitive to a different precipitation type. With the addition of four new channels, the GPM Core Observatory is the first spacecraft designed to detect light rain and snowfall from space.

In addition to seeing all types of rain, GMI's technological advancements allow the instrument to identify rain structures as small as about 3 to 9 miles (5 to 15 kilometers) across. This higher resolution is a significant improvement over the capability of an earlier instrument flown on the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission in 1997.

"You can clearly see them in the GMI data because the resolution is that much better," said Skofronick-Jackson.

The DPR instrument adds another dimension to the observations that puts the data into high relief. The radar sends signals that bounce off the raindrops and snowflakes to reveal the 3D structure of the entire storm. Like GMI, its two frequencies are sensitive to different rain and snow particle sizes. One frequency senses heavy and moderate rain. A new, second radar frequency is sensitive to lighter rainfall and snowfall.

"Both return independent measurements of the size of raindrops or snowflakes and how they are distributed within the weather system," said DPR scientist Bob Meneghini at Goddard. "DPR allows scientists to see at what height different types of rain and snow or a mixture occur -- details that show what is happening inside sometimes complicated storm systems."

The DPR data, combined with data from GMI, also contribute to more accurate rain estimates. Scientists use the data from both instruments to calculate the rain rate, which is how much rain or snow falls to Earth. Rain rate is one of the Core Observatory's essential measurements for understanding where water is on Earth and where it's going.

"All this new information comes together to help us better understand how fresh water moves through Earth's system and contributes to things like floods and droughts," said Skofronick-Jackson.

3-d models of clouds, with cutaway showing towers of color - precipitation rates

3D view inside an extra-tropical cyclone observed off the coast of Japan, March 10, 2014, by GPM's Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar. The vertical cross-section approx. 4.4 mi (7 km) high show rain rates: red areas indicate heavy rainfall while yellow and blue indicate less intense rainfall.

Image Credit: JAXA/NASA

The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar observes rainfall and snowfall that occurs within clouds in three dimensions, across the surface of Earth and upward into the atmosphere. An extra-tropical cyclone was observed over the northwest Pacific Ocean off the coast of Japan on March 10, 2014.

Image Credit: JAXA/NASA

Feature Link:

More information on this image

GMI was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies, Corp., in Boulder, Colo., under contract to NASA. DPR was developed by JAXA with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology.

These first GPM Core Observatory images were captured during the first few weeks after launch, when mission controllers at the NASA Goddard Mission Operations Center put the spacecraft and its science instruments through their paces to ensure they were healthy and functioning as expected. The engineering team calibrates the sensors, and Goddard's team at the Precipitation Processing System verifies the accuracy of the data.

This initial science data from the GPM Core Observatory will be validated and then released for free by September online at:

http://pps.gsfc.nasa.gov

For more information and the GPM mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/gpm

and

http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/gpm/index_e.html

The GPM Core Observatory was the first of five planned Earth science launches for the agency in 2014. The joint NASA/JAXA mission will study rain and snow around the world, joining with an international network of partner satellites to make global observations every three hours.

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, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

Inscríbete en el Foro del blog y participa : A Vuelo De Un Quinde - El Foro!

viernes, 28 de febrero de 2014

NASA : NASA and JAXA Launch New Satellite to Measure Global Rain and Snow

A Japanese H-IIA rocket with the NASA-Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory onboard, is seen launching from the Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, Japan.

Image Credit:

NASA/Bill Ingalls

Latest GPM Update

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), thundered into space at 1:37 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 27 (3:37 a.m. JST Friday, Feb. 28) from Japan.

The four-ton spacecraft launched aboard a Japanese H-IIA rocket from Tanegashima Space Center on Tanegashima Island in southern Japan. The GPM spacecraft separated from the rocket 16 minutes after launch, at an altitude of 247 miles (398 kilometers). The solar arrays deployed 10 minutes after spacecraft separation, to power the spacecraft.

"With this launch, we have taken another giant leap in providing the world with an unprecedented picture of our planet's rain and snow," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "GPM will help us better understand our ever-changing climate, improve forecasts of extreme weather events like floods, and assist decision makers around the world to better manage water resources."

GPM lifts off to begin its Earth-observing mission.

Image Credit:

NASA/Bill Ingalls

The GPM Core Observatory will take a major step in improving upon the capabilities of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM), a joint NASA-JAXA mission launched in 1997 and still in operation. While TRMM measured precipitation in the tropics, the GPM Core Observatory expands the coverage area from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle. GPM will also be able to detect light rain and snowfall, a major source of available fresh water in some regions.

To better understand Earth's weather and climate cycles, the GPM Core Observatory will collect information that unifies and improves data from an international constellation of existing and future satellites by mapping global precipitation every three hours.

"It is incredibly exciting to see this spacecraft launch," said GPM Project Manager Art Azarbarzin of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "This is the moment that the GPM Team has been working toward since 2006. The GPM Core Observatory is the product of a dedicated team at Goddard, JAXA and others worldwide. Soon, as GPM begins to collect precipitation observations, we'll see these instruments at work providing real-time information for the scientists about the intensification of storms, rainfall in remote areas and so much more."

The GPM Core Observatory was assembled at Goddard and is the largest spacecraft ever built at the center. It carries two instruments to measure rain and snowfall. The GPM Microwave Imager, provided by NASA, will estimate precipitation intensities from heavy to light rain, and snowfall by carefully measuring the minute amounts of energy naturally emitted by precipitation. The Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), developed by JAXA with the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Tokyo, will use emitted radar pulses to make detailed measurements of three-dimensional rainfall structure and intensity, allowing scientists to improve estimates of how much water the precipitation holds. Mission operations and data processing will be managed from Goddard.

"We still have a lot to learn about how rain and snow systems behave in the bigger Earth system," said GPM Project Scientist Gail Skofronick-Jackson of Goddard. "With the advanced instruments on the GPM Core Observatory, we will have for the first time frequent unified global observations of all types of precipitation, everything from the rain in your backyard to storms forming over the oceans to the falling snow contributing to water resources."

"We have spent more than a decade developing DPR using Japanese technology, the first radar of its kind in space," said Masahiro Kojima, JAXA GPM/DPR project manager. "I expect GPM to produce important new results for our society by improving weather forecasts and prediction of extreme events such as typhoons and flooding."

The GPM Core Observatory is the first of NASA's five Earth science missions launching this year. With a fleet of satellites and ambitious airborne and ground-based observation campaigns, NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space. NASA also 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 freely 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 this year, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

For more information about GPM, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/gpm

and

http://www.jaxa.jp/projects/sat/gpm/index_e.html

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

Inscríbete en el Foro del blog y participa : A Vuelo De Un Quinde - El Foro!

miércoles, 29 de enero de 2014

NASA : NASA, JAXA Prepare Rain and Snow Satellite for Launch

NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission will track Earth's water into one of its last hiding places: the soil.

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Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission

NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission will track Earth's water into one of its last hiding places: the soil. Soil moisture data from SMAP will aid in predictions of agricultural productivity, weather and climate. High-resolution global maps of soil moisture produced from SMAP data will inform water resource management decisions on water availability around our planet. SMAP is scheduled to launch in November 2014 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a Delta II rocket. The mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

Image Credit: NASA

NASA, JAXA Prepare Rain and Snow Satellite for Launch

The world enters a new era of global weather observing and climate science in February with the launch of the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory, a new international science satellite built by NASA.

GPM, a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), is scheduled to launch Feb. 27 from Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. The observatory will link data from a constellation of current and planned satellites to produce next-generation global measurements of rainfall and snowfall from space.
The GPM mission is the first coordinated international satellite network to provide near real-time observations of rain and snow every three hours anywhere on the globe. The GPM Core Observatory anchors this network by providing observations on all types of precipitation. The observatory's data acts as the measuring stick by which partner observations can be combined into a unified data set. The data will be used by scientists to study climate change, freshwater resources, floods and droughts, and hurricane formation and tracking.
“The water-cycle, so familiar to all school-age young scientists, is one of the most interesting, dynamic, and important elements in our studies of the Earth’s weather and climate,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. “GPM will provide scientists and forecasters critical information to help us understand and cope with future extreme weather events and fresh water resources."
The GPM Core Observatory will fly 253 miles (407 kilometers) above Earth in an orbit inclined 65-degrees to the equator. This orbit allows the Core Observatory to observe precipitation from the Arctic Circle to the Antarctic Circle at different times of day so it is able to observe changing storm and weather systems that behave differently during day and night. Normal operations will begin about 60 days after launch. Data will be downlinked through NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center's Precipitation Processing Center in Greenbelt, Md., where it will be processed and distributed over the Internet.
GPM's Core Observatory carries two instruments to measure rain and snowfall: the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR), designed by JAXA and the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology in Japan, and built by NEC Toshiba Space Systems Ltd., Tokyo; and the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), provided by NASA and built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Together, these two instruments will collect improved observations that will allow scientists to better "see" inside clouds. In particular, they both provide new capabilities for observing smaller particles of rain, ice and snow.
"Knowledge of how water moves around the Earth system through precipitation is vital for monitoring freshwater resources," said Gail Skofronick-Jackson, GPM project scientist at Goddard. "The data from the GPM mission provides unprecedented measurements of global precipitation. The GPM Core Observatory will observe detailed characteristics of rain and snow systems that are also extremely important for improving weather and climate forecasts."
The DPR precipitation radar adds a new frequency with which to observe precipitation, allowing it to capture ice and light rain. It will return three-dimensional profiles and intensities of liquid and solid precipitation that will reveal the internal structure of storms within and below clouds.
The GMI is a microwave radiometer designed to sense the total precipitation within all cloud layers. In addition to collecting data on heavy to moderate rain, four new channels will be sensitive to light rain and snowfall, two types of precipitation that are especially prevalent in mountain regions and the higher latitudes over North America, Europe and Asia.
Together, DPR and GMI will provide observations on the size, intensity and distribution of raindrops and snowflakes. Scientists will be able to use this data to look at how precipitation behaves and influences weather and climate patterns. These patterns affect the distribution of fresh water around the world, impacting supplies for drinking water and agriculture.
The GPM Core Observatory, built by Goddard, will launch on an H-IIA rocket provided by JAXA. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. is managing the launch.
GPM Core Observatory is the latest mission to support NASA's mission to monitor Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites and 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, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

For more information about GPM, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/gpm

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@hotmail.con

Inscríbete en el Foro del blog y participa : A Vuelo De Un Quinde - El Foro!

martes, 28 de enero de 2014

NASA : NASA Set for a Big Year in Earth Science with Five New Missions

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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NASA 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.

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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.

For more information about NASA's Earth science activities in 2014, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

For information on the latest NASA Earth science findings, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earth

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui