Why Measure Rain and Snow?

Rain, snow, and other forms of precipitation affect every part of life on Earth. Rain falls on the crops we eat, fills the reservoirs of water we drink, and is an integral part of everyday weather and long term climate trends. This website, presented by NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, provides students and educators with resources to learn about Earth’s water cycle, weather and climate, and the technology and societal applications of studying them.

New to the site? Click here for a quick video tour. 

The GPM Core Observatory successfully launched on February 27th, 2014, learn more.

Global Precipitation Measurement

GPM is an international satellite mission that uses multiple satellites orbiting Earth to collect rain, snow and other precipitation data worldwide every three hours. On February 27th, 2014, NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched a Core Observatory satellite carrying advanced instruments that improve our precipitation-measuring capabilities and bring all the data from the partner satellites into a unified global dataset. 

• Learn More about GPM
• See our Current Activities
• Water Cycle Basics
• Frequently Asked Questions