NASA EOS satellites - Terra
From INVESaTWIKI
TERRA (EOS AM-1)
Terra (formerly EOS AM-1) is the flagship satellite of NASA's Earth observing systems. Terra is the first EOS (Earth Observing System) platform and provides global data on the state of the atmosphere, land, and oceans, as well as their interactions with solar radiation and with one another.
Terra is a multi-national, multi-disciplinary mission involving partnerships with the aerospace agencies of Canada and Japan. Managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the mission also receives key contributions from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Langley Research Center. Terra is an important part of NASA’s Science Mission, helping us better understand and protect our home planet.
Launch
- Launched: December 18, 1999.
- Launch Site: Western Test Range, Vandenberg Air Force.
Orbit
- Altitude: 705 km.
- Inclination: 98.2 degrees.
- Period: 98.9 minutes.
- Repeat Cycle: Ground Track Repeat: 16 days.
- Sun-Synchronous.
Vital Statistics
- Weight: 5,190 kg.
- Size: 3.5 meters.
- Power: 2,530 watts.
- Design Life: 5 years.
Instruments
- Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES).
- Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR).
- Moderate- Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS).
- Measurements of Pollution in The Troposphere (MOPITT).
- Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER).
Scientists don’t understand the cause-and-effect relationships among Earth's lands, oceans, and atmosphere well enough to predict what, if any, impacts these rapid changes will have on future climate conditions. Scientists need to make many measurements all over the world, over a long period of time, in order to assemble the information needed to construct accurate computer models that will enable them to forecast the causes and effects of climate change. The only feasible way to collect this information is through the use of space-based Earth “remote sensors” (instruments that can measure things like temperature from a distance). Consequently, NASA’s Earth Observing System has begun an international study of planet Earth that is comprised of three main components: 1) a series of satellites specially designed to study the complexities of global change; 2) an advanced computer network for processing, storing, and distributing data (called EOSDIS); and 3) teams of scientists all over the world who will study the data.
On February 24, 2000, Terra began collecting what will ultimately become a new, 15-year global data set on which to base scientific investigations about our complex home planet. Together with the entire fleet of EOS spacecraft, Terra is helping scientists unravel the mysteries of climate and environmental change. [1]
