{"id":57083,"date":"2015-02-26T23:11:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T03:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/?migration=converted-node-342952"},"modified":"2023-07-26T14:42:33","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T18:42:33","slug":"new-nasa-earth-science-missions-expand-view-of-our-home-planet","status":"publish","type":"press-release","link":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/new-nasa-earth-science-missions-expand-view-of-our-home-planet\/","title":{"rendered":"New NASA Earth Science Missions Expand View of Our Home Planet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"hds-media-import-wrapper\"><figcaption>Students and teachers wait to view the RockOn launch. Credit: NASA\/T. Cervantes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Four new NASA Earth-observing missions are collecting data from space \u2013 with a fifth newly in orbit \u2013 after the busiest year of NASA Earth science launches in more than a decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On Feb. 27, 2014, NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) launched the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory into space from Japan. Data from GPM and the other new missions are making observations and providing scientists with new insights into global rain and snowfall, atmospheric carbon dioxide, ocean winds, clouds, and tiny airborne particles called aerosols.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis has been a phenomenally productive year for NASA in our mission to explore our complex planet from the unique vantage point of space,\u201d said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA\u2019s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. \u201cCombined with data from our other Earth-observing spacecraft, these new missions will give us new insights into how Earth works as a system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With these missions, including two instruments mounted on the exterior of the International Space Station, NASA now has 20 Earth-observing space missions in operation. Observations from these missions, like all NASA data, will be freely available to the international scientific community and decision makers in the United States and abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe highly accurate measurements from these new missions will help scientists around the world tackle some of the biggest questions about how our planet is changing,\u201d said Peg Luce, deputy director of the Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cThese new capabilities will also be put to work to help improve lives here on Earth and support informed decision-making by citizens and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last month, NASA released the agency\u2019s most comprehensive global rain and snowfall product to date from the GPM mission made with data from a network of 12 international satellites and the Core Observatory. The Core Observatory acts as a tuner to bring together measurements of other satellites, providing a nearly global picture of rain and snow called the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM, or IMERG. The first global visualization of the initial IMERG data was released Thursday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe IMERG data gives us an unprecedented view of global precipitation every 30 minutes,\u201d said Gail Skofronick-Jackson, GPM project scientist at NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. \u201cKnowing where, when and how much it rains and snows is vital to understanding Earth\u2019s water cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, launched on July 2, 2014, is providing preliminary global maps of carbon dioxide concentrations and a related phenomenon known as solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence. OCO-2 data will let scientists better understand how carbon dioxide is distributed around the globe and changes with the seasons. The data will be used to identify the sources and storage places, or sinks, of carbon dioxide, the most significant human-produced greenhouse gas driving global climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A preliminary global map based on observations from November and December 2014 shows carbon dioxide concentrations largely driven by the seasons, with higher levels in the northern hemisphere winter and lower in the southern hemisphere summer. The data show levels unprecedented in recorded history, according to Ralph Basilio, OCO-2 project manager at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe ultimate goal is to collect data to advance carbon cycle science, improve understanding of the global climate change process, and make better-informed decisions,\u201d Basilio said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to these two free-flying satellite missions, NASA deployed two Earth-observing instruments to the International Space Station: ISS-RapidScat, a scatterometer that measures wind speeds and direction over the ocean, and the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS), a lidar that measures the altitude of clouds and airborne particles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Launched Sept. 21, 2014, ISS-RapidScat\u2019s ocean wind measurements continue observations made by the agency\u2019s QuikScat satellite, according to Bryan Stiles, the mission\u2019s science processing lead at JPL. These measurements already are being used in weather forecast models used by the United States Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and by European and Indian scientists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The ISS-RapidScat team also is using the wind measurements to better understand how ocean winds differ, on average, during the day and night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CATS, which was launched to the space station on Jan. 10, has released its first data image: a slice of the atmosphere over Africa showing clouds and dust particles on Feb. 11. Clouds and aerosols remain two of the biggest question marks in terms of impact on future potential climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CATS was built by a team at Goddard as a way to demonstrate new lidar technology capable of accurate cloud and aerosol measurements, according to Matt McGill, CATS principal investigator at Goddard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA\u2019s newest Earth-observing satellite, the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP), was launched Jan. 31 to begin its mission to map global soil moisture and detect whether soils are frozen or thawed. Currently in its checkout phase, the observatory completed a key milestone Tuesday with the deployment of its 20-foot-wide (6-meter) reflector antenna, which in about a month will begin rotating at approximately 15 revolutions per minute. The antenna will produce a 620-mile-wide (1,000-kilometers) measurement swath, mapping the entire globe every two to three days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NASA monitors Earth\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Video and images of these new NASA data products are available online at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>http:\/\/go.nasa.gov\/newearthviews<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information about NASA\u2019s Earth science activities, visit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/earthrightnow<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>-end-<\/p>\n\n\n<p>Steve Cole<br \/>\nHeadquarters, Washington<br \/>\n202-358-0918<br \/>\n<a href=\"mailto:stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov\">stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Students and teachers wait to view the RockOn launch. Credit: NASA\/T. Cervantes Four new NASA Earth-observing missions are collecting data from space \u2013 with a fifth newly in orbit \u2013 after the busiest year of NASA Earth science launches in more than a decade. On Feb. 27, 2014, NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":59025,"template":"","meta":{"nasa_hds_core_meta_l10n":"en-US","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_editor":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_article_contacts":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_topic":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_linked_locations":[],"nasa_hds_core_meta_article_related_articles":[],"hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_id":"15-025","hds_migrate_meta_pr_release_type":"RELEASE","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_x":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_location_y":"","nasa_hds_core_meta_gallery_images":[]},"categories":[3228,3147,2707,2857,2735,2771,2867,2758,2778],"news-tags":[12350],"internal-terms":[6074,9514,9508],"coauthors":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"New NASA Earth Science Missions Expand View of Our Home Planet","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/new-nasa-earth-science-missions-expand-view-of-our-home-planet\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/new-nasa-earth-science-missions-expand-view-of-our-home-planet\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/m15-025.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/m15-025.jpg"},"articleSection":"Earth","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"NASA"}],"creator":["NASA"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"NASA","logo":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/themes\/nasa\/assets\/images\/nasa-logo.svg"},"keywords":["Missions","SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive)","Earth","Expedition 42","Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM)","Goddard Space Flight Center","International Space Station (ISS)","ISS Rapid Scatterometer (ISS-RapidScat)","NASA Headquarters","OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2)"],"dateCreated":"2015-02-27T03:11:00Z","datePublished":"2015-02-27T03:11:00Z","dateModified":"2023-07-26T18:42:33Z"},"rendered":"<meta name=\"parsely-title\" content=\"New NASA Earth Science Missions Expand View of Our Home Planet\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-link\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/news-release\/new-nasa-earth-science-missions-expand-view-of-our-home-planet\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-type\" content=\"post\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-image-url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/m15-025.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-pub-date\" content=\"2015-02-27T03:11:00Z\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-section\" content=\"Earth\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-tags\" content=\"Missions,SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive),Earth,Expedition 42,Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM),Goddard Space Flight Center,International Space Station (ISS),ISS Rapid Scatterometer (ISS-RapidScat),NASA Headquarters,OCO-2 (Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2)\" \/>\n<meta name=\"parsely-author\" content=\"NASA\" \/>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/nasa.gov\/p.js"},"read_time":5,"featured_image":{"id":59025,"file":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/m15-025.jpg","title":"m15-025","alt":"NASA's five Earth-observing missions of 2014-2015","caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/57083"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-release"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/57083\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":370703,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press-release\/57083\/revisions\/370703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=57083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=57083"},{"taxonomy":"news-tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-tags?post=57083"},{"taxonomy":"internal-terms","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-terms?post=57083"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=57083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}