Earth Science Mission Thumbnail Description Website E/PO Lead E/PO Lead Organization Email First Name Last Name ACRIMSAT The ACRIMSAT Mission is measuring Total Solar Irradiance (TSI). The http://acrim.jpl.nasa.gov Karen Yuen JPL [email protected] ACRIMSAT spacecraft carries the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) III instrument, the third in a series of long-term solar monitoring tools. Airborne Science Program The Airborne Science Program within the Earth Science Division is http://airbornescience.nasa.gov Cheryl Yuhas NASA HQ [email protected] responsible for providing aircraft systems that further science and Bruce Tagg [email protected] advance the use of satellite data. Aqua Aqua is obtaining a set of precise atmosphere and ocean http://aqua.nasa.gov Steve Graham GSFC [email protected] measurements to understand their role in Earth's climate and its variations. Aqua carries six state-of-the-art instruments to observe the Earth's oceans, atmosphere, land, ice and snow covers, and vegetation, providing high measurement accuracy, spatial detail, and temporal frequencey. It is gathering data on the Earth's water cycle, in particular information on water vapor and clouds, precipitation from the atmosphere, soil wetness on land, ice on both land and sea, and snow cover. It also provides information on vegetation cover, temperatures of the air, land and water, and radiation from both the Sun and the Earth. Aqua is a joint project of the United States, Japan and Brazil. Aqua/AIRS The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) is one of six instruments http://airs.jpl.nasa.gov Sharon Ray JPL [email protected] aboard the Aqua satellite. Together with the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU-A), these instruments observe the global water and energy cycles, climate variation and trends, and the response of the climate system to increased greenhouse gases. AIRS creates 3-D maps of air and surface water temperature, water vapor and cloud properties. AIRS can also measure trace greenhouse gases such as ozone, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and methane Aquarius Aquarius/SAC-D is a focused satellite mission, planned for launch in http://aquarius.nasa.gov Annette deCharon University of Maine [email protected] 2011, to measure global sea surface salinity (SSS). The Aquarius instrument will measure changes in SSS equivalent to about a "pinch" of salt in one gallon of water. By measuring SSS over the globe, Aquarius will answer long-standing questions about how our oceans respond to climate change and the water cycle. Aquarius will also be used to monitor water masses that regulate ocean circulation and Earth's climate. NASA is partnering with the Space Agency of Argentina (Comisión Nacional de Actividades Especiales, CONAE) on the Aquarius/SAC-D mission. Aura The Aura mission studies the Earth's ozone, air quality and climate. It http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov Ginger Butcher GSFC/Sigma Space [email protected] is designed exclusively to conduct research on the composition, Corp. chemistry and dynamics of the Earth's atmosphere. Aura's objective is to study the chemistry and dynamics of the Earth's atmosphere with emphasis on the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere by employing multiple instruments on a single satellite. The satellite's measurements enable scientists to investigate questions about ozone trends, air quality changes, and their linkage to climate change Earth Science Mission Thumbnail Description Website E/PO Lead E/PO Lead Organization Email First Name Last Name CALIPSO The Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation http://www.calipso.larc.nasa.gov/ Charles Trepte LaRC [email protected] (CALIPSO) satellite is providing new insight into the role that clouds outreach/ and atmospheric aerosols (airborne particles) play in regulating Earth's weather, climate, and air quality. CALIPSO and CloudSat are highly complementary and together provide 3-D perspectives of how clouds and aerosols form, evolve, and affect weather and climate. CALIPSO is a joint preject between NASA and Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) of France. CloudSat CloudSat is among the first satellites to study clouds on a global basis. http://cloudsat.atmos.colostate.e Todd Ellis SUNY-Oneonta [email protected] Its key observations are the vertical profiles of cloud liquid water and du/ ice water contents, and related cloud physical and radiative Deanna TeBockhorst Colorado State [email protected] properties. CloudSat flies in a tight formation with the CALIPSO Peter Falcon University [email protected] satellite, and both follow behind the Aqua satellite in a looser formation. The combination of these satellites provide a rich source of information that can be used to assess the role of clouds in both weather and climate. EO-1 The New Millennium Program Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) program http://eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov/new/ext Nancy Leon JPL [email protected] completed its baseline mission requirements successfully after one ended/index.html year of operations on Nov. 20, 2001. In Dec. 2001, NASA HQ approved a plan to permit the EO-1 Program to embark on an Extended Mission operations phase. The objectives of the Extended Mission are to maximize the infusion of EO-1 technology by simultaneously increasing utilization of the on-orbit resource and to reduce the cost of operations through a Continuous Improvement Program.
GRACE The primary goal of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment http://www.csr.utexas.edu/grace/ Margaret Baguio University of Texas - [email protected] (GRACE) mission is to accurately map variations in the Earth's gravity Austin field. Another goal of the mission is to create a better profile of the Earth's atmosphere. The results are contributing to global climate change studies. GRACE is a joint project between NASA and Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fur Luft und Raumfahrt (DLR) in Germany. ICESat and ICESat-2 ICESat (Ice, Cloud and land Evaluation Satellite) is the benchmark http://icesat.gsfc.nasa.gov Brian Campbell GSFC/SAIC [email protected] Earth Observing System mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. From 2003 to 2009, the ICESat mission provided multi- year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas. It also provided topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarcitc ice sheets.
ICESat-2 is the 2nd generation of the ICESat orbiting laser altimeter and scheduled for launch in late 2015. Earth Science Mission Thumbnail Description Website E/PO Lead E/PO Lead Organization Email First Name Last Name Jason-1, OSTM/Jason-2 Jason-1 is a satellite oceanography mission, which measures sea- http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov Annie Richardson JPL [email protected] surface height to understand global ocean circulation, improve global climate predictions, and monitor events such as El Niño conditions and ocean eddies. Accurate measurements of sea-surface height and ocean winds provide scientists with information about the speed and direction of ocean currents and about the heat stored in the ocean. This, in turn, helps reveal global climate variations.
The Ocean Surface Topography Mission on the Jason-2 satellite is a follow-on to Jason-1. It takes the measurment of sea surface height from space into an operational mode, for continued climate forcasting science and research, and for industrial and commercial applications.
Landsat and Landsat Data The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions http://landsat.usgs.gov/index.php Anita Davis GSFC/Sigma Space [email protected] Continuity Mission (LDCM) jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey. For almost Corp. 40 years, Landsat satellites have collected data of the Earth's continental surfaces to support global change research and applications. The data constitutes the longest continuous record of the Earth's surface as seen from space.
LDCM is the future of Landsat satellites. In addition to collecting data for land use planning and monitoring on regional to local scales, support of disaster response and evaluations, and water use monitoring, LDCM measurements will serve NASA science research in climate, carbon cycle, ecosystems, water cycle, biogeochemistry, and Earth surface/interior. OCO-2 OCO-2 is a mission in NASA's ongoing study of the global carbon cycle, http://oco.jpl.nasa.gov Karen Yuen JPL [email protected] and will recover important scientific measurements "lost" as a result of the OCO launch vehicle anomaly. OCO-2 will make space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) with the precision, resolution, and coverage needed to more accurately map the geographic distribution of CO2 sources and sinks. This information will be used to improve our understanding of the processes that control atmospheric concentrations of this potent greenhouse gas and will lead to improved predictions of future climate.
QuickSCAT QuikSCAT is recording sea-surface wind speed and direction data http://winds.jpl.nasa.gov/missions Peter Falcon JPL [email protected] under all weather and cloud conditions over Earth's oceans. /quickscat/ QuickSCAT can acquire hundreds of times more observations of surface wind velocity each day than can ships and buoys, and can provide continuous, accurate and high-resolution measurements of both wind speeds and direction regardless of weather conditions. This data is vital for global climate research, operational weather forecasting, and storm warning. Earth Science Mission Thumbnail Description Website E/PO Lead E/PO Lead Organization Email First Name Last Name SMAP SMAP Mission will provide a capability for global mapping of soil http://smap.jpl.nasa.gov Karen Yuen JPL [email protected] moisture and freeze/thaw state. Since large amounts of energy are required to vaporize water, soil moisture controls both the water and energy fluxes at the surface, and their influence on weather and climate. Accurate soil moisture information will improve the performance of land surface parameterizations in atmospheric models and enhance their predictive skill. Furthermore, SMAP will quantify the nature, extent, timing and duration of landscape seasonal freeze/thaw state transitions that are key to estimating terrestrial carbon sources and sinks. SORCE The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiments (SORCE) is a NASA- http://lasp.colorado.edu/reu Martin Snow LASP/University of [email protected] sponsored satellite mission providing measurements of incoming x- http://last.colorado.edu/source/in Colorado ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation. The dex.htm measurements specifically address long-term climate change, natural variability and enhanced climate prediction, and ozone and UV-B radiation. Terra Terra is the first Earth Observing System (EOS) platform and provides http://terra.nasa.gov Holli Riebeek GSFC/Sigma Space [email protected] global data on the state of the atmosphere, land and oceans, as well Corp. as their interactions with solar radiation and with one another. The five instruments onboard Terra include the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), the Moderate-Resolution Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MODIS), the Measurement of Pollution in The Troposphere (MOPITT), and the Advances Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) instrument. CERES measures thermal radiation or heat emitted from the U.S. MISR measures the variation of surface and cloud properties, and particles in the atmosphere. MODIS captures true color images of the Earth. MOPITT maps carbon monoxide and methane concentrations at altitudes between 10 miles and the ground. ASTER measures cloud properties, vegetation index, surface mineralogy, soil properties, surface temperature, and surface topography for selected regions of the Earth. Tropical Rainfall Measuring TRMM is a research satellite designed to help our understanding of http://trmm.gsfc.nasa.gov/ Scott Braun GSFC [email protected] Mission (TRMM) the water cycle in the current climate system. By covering the tropical and semi-tropical regions of the Earth, TRMM provides much needed data on rainfall and the heat release assocaited with rainfall. It contributes to our understanding of how clouds affect climate and how much energy is transported int he the global water cycle. In coordination with other satellites in NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, TRMM will begin the process of understanding the interactions between water vapor, clouds and precipitation that is central to regulating the climate system