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Recent Imagery

You will be directed to the NASA Visible Earth webpage when you select Images by Mission below, or click on the images at right that are randomly generated to represent four out of all possible topics.

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Missions: Tier 2

Satellite missions in Tier 2 of the Decadal Survey will launch from 2013 – 2016. Five missions will explore land surface composition and mineral characterization; vegetation changes; global atmospheric column carbon dioxide (CO2); ocean, lake and river water levels; atmospheric gas columns; ocean color; and aerosol and climate profiles. As a result, the Tier 2 missions will describe ecosystem health, improve air quality forecasts, and increase understanding of ocean biogeochemistry.

Mission Mission Category Status
Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) Future, Pre-Formulation
Aerosol-Cloud-Ecosystems (ACE) Future, Pre-Formulation
Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events (GEO-CAPE) Future, Pre-Formulation
Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) Future, Pre-Formulation
Surface Water Ocean Topography (SWOT) Future, Implementation