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MISSIONS
This section presents current and future Earth science missions supported by the Earth Sciences Division.
The Earth Sciences Division, the Sciences and Exploration Directorate, and the Goddard Space Flight Center have been charged by NASA with providing scientific leadership, program and project management, systems and discipline engineering, and spacecraft and instrument manufacturing. Additionally, the Earth Sciences Division provides procurement, logistics and other administrative functions that are necessary to place scientific instruments into space, retrieve and distribute data, and advance knowledge of space and the Earth. Our partnerships with industry, academia, and international partners are key components of the United States' space policy and help assure the best capabilities from all available sources are brought together to attain NASA's vision.
In Operation
- ACRIMSAT
- ACRIMSAT is the latest in a series of long-term solar-monitoring missions, utilizing the proven Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor III (ACRIM III) instrument.
- Aqua
- Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth Science satellite mission named for the large amount of information that the mission will be collecting about the Earth's water cycle.
- Aura
- A mission researches the compostion, chemistry, and dynamics of Earth's atmosphere as well as study the ozone, air quaility, and climate.
- Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO)
- CALIPSO will provide the next generation of climate observations, drastically improving our ability to predict climate change and to study the air we breathe.
- CloudSat
- CloudSat's cloud-profiling radar is 1,000 times more sensitive than typical weather radar and can detect clouds and distinguish between cloud particles and precipitation.
- Earth Observing -1 (EO-1)
- As the first New Millennium Program Earth Observing Mission, EO-1 has validated advanced land imaging and unique spacecraft technologies.
- Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)
- GOES-N is the latest in a series of satellites that provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes and hurricanes.
- Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE)
- Twin satellites launched in March 2002, are making detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field which will lead to discoveries about gravity and Earth's natural systems.
- Ice Cloud and Land Elevation (ICESat) Mission
- The ICESat mission will provide multi-year elevation data regarding ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas.
- Jason
- Jason-1 is the first follow-on to the highly successful TOPEX/Poseidon mission that measured ocean surface topography.
- Landsat
- The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.
- Ocean Surface Topography Mission (OSTM)
- OSTM measures sea surface height by using radar altimeter mounted on a low-Earth observing sattelite called Jason-2
- Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO)
- OCO provides space-based observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide, the principal human-initiated driver of climate change.
- QuikSCAT
- The Quick Scatterometer, or QuikScat, replaces the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) instrument on Japan's Midori satellite.
- SeaStar/SeaWiFS
- The SeaStar satellite carries the SeaWiFS instrument which is designed to monitor the color of the world's oceans.
- Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE)
- A NASA-sponsored satellite mission that will provide state-of-the-art measurements of incoming x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation.
- Terra
- Terra is a multi-national, multi-disciplinary partnership between the U.S., Canada and Japan that is an important part of helping us better understand and protect our home planet.
- Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)
- TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall.
In Development
- Aquarius
- Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global Sea Surface Salinity (SSS).
- Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES)
- GOES-O, the second spacecraft in the GOES-NOP Series of satellites will be launched no earler than April 6, 2009.
- Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)
- The GPM mission is one of the next generation of satellite-based Earth science missions that will study global precipitation (rain, snow, ice).
- Glory
- Glory will help increase our understanding of the Earth's Enegy Balance.
- Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LCDM)
- The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government.
- NOAA Environmental Satellites
- NOAA-N Prime is the latest in a series of polar-orbiting satellites, that will collect information to improve weather prediction and climate research across the globe.
- Polar Operational Environmental Satellite (POES)
- POES is a cooperative effort between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United Kingdom and France.
- Soil Moisture Active-Passive (SMAP) Mission
- SMAP has been recommended by the National Research Council (NRC) Earth Science Decadal Survey Panel for launch in the 2010-2013 time frame.
Of Other Interest
- ARCTAS
- Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites
- Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling (TC4)
- The TC4 study will tackle challenging questions about Earth's ozone layer and climate using coordinated observations from satellites and high-flying NASA airplanes.
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