Sciences and Exploration Directorate

ACE Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS)

The Cosmic Ray Isotope Spectrometer (CRIS) will measure the abundances of galactic cosmic ray isotopes.

ACE Solar Isotope Spectrometer (SIS)

The Solar Isotope Spectrometer provides isotopically resolved measurements of the elements from lithium to zinc over the energy range 10 - 100 MeV/nucleon. The SIS dectector system consists of two identical telescopes composed of stacks of large-area solid-state detectors.

Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIMSAT)

The purpose of the Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor III (ACRIM III) instrument is to study total solar irradiance, which is the sun's combined energy output at all wavelengths. The ACRIM III instrument package is flying on a spacecraft called ACRIMSAT. The spacecraft was launched on December 20, 1999 as a secondary payload on a Taurus launch vehicle. ACRIM III, third in a series of long-term solar-monitoring tools built for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, will continue to extend the database first created by ACRIM I, which was launched in 1980 on the Solar Maximum Mission (SMM) spacecraft. ACRIM II followed on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) in 1991.

Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE)

The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) studies energetic particles from the sun as well as sources within and outside our galaxy. ACE observations contribute to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system as well as the astrophysical processes involved. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center provided detectors and telescopes for several of ACE's instruments. The mission launched in 1997.

-/+ Key Staff

- Deputy Project Scientist: Eric R Christian
- Project Scientist: Tycho T Von Rosenvinge

Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E)

The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) is a twelve-channel, six-frequency, total power passive-microwave radiometer system. It measures brightness temperatures at 6.925, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, and 89.0 GHz. Vertically and horizontally polarized measurements are taken at all channels. The Earth-emitted microwave radiation is collected by an offset parabolic reflector 1.6 meters in diameter that scans across the Earth along an imaginary conical surface, maintaining a constant Earth incidence angle of 55° and providing a swath width array of six feedhorns which then carry the radiation to radiometers for measurement. Calibration is accomplished with observations of cosmic background radiation and an on-board warm target. Spatial resolution of the individual measurements varies from 5.4 km at 89.0 GHz to 56 km at 6.9 GHz.

Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM)

The AIM satellite mission is designed to explore Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs), also called noctilucent clouds, to find out why they form and why they are changing.

-/+ Key Staff

- Project Scientist: Charles Herbert Jackman

AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET)

The program provides a long-term, continuous and readily accessible public domain database of aerosol optical, mircrophysical and radiative properties for aerosol research and characterization, validation of satellite retrievals, and synergism with other databases. The network imposes standardization of instruments, calibration, processing and distribution.

Airborne Cloud Physics Lidar (CPL)

The Cloud Physics Lidar is an airborne lidar system designed specifically for studying clouds and aerosols using the ER-2 High Altitude Aircraft. Because the ER-2 typically flies at 65,000 feet (20 km), its instruments are above 94% of the earth's atmosphere, thereby allowing ER-2 instruments to function as spaceborne instrument simulators. The Cloud Physics Lidar provides a unique tool for atmospheric profiling and is sufficiently small and low cost to include in multiple instrument missions.

Airborne Earth Science Microwave Imaging Radiometer (AESMIR)

The Airborne Earth Science Microwave Imaging Radiometer (AESMIR) is a passive microwave airborne imager covering the 6-100 GHz bands that are essential for observing key Earth System elements such as precipitation, snow, soil moisture, ocean winds, sea ice, sea surface temperature, vegetation, etc.

Application Controlled Parallel Asynchronous Input/Output (Asynch I/O)

An MPI-based Parallel Asynchronous I/O (PAIO) software package that enables applications to balance compute and I/O resources directly

Aqua

Aqua (Latin for water) is a NASA satellite mission designed to collect information about Earth's water cycle. Aqua's six instruments collect a variety of global data on ocean evaporation, atmospheric water vapor, clouds, precipitation, soil moisture, sea ice, land ice, and snow cover on the land and ice. Additional variables that Aqua measures include radiative energy fluxes; aerosols; vegetation cover on the land; phytoplankton and dissolved organic matter in the oceans; and air, land, and water temperatures. Aqua was launched on May 4, 2002.

-/+ Key Staff

- Project Scientist: Dr. Claire L Parkinson
- Deputy Project Scientist: Lazaros Oraiopoulos

Aquarius

Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global sea surface salinity which launched on June 10, 2011. Its instruments will measure changes in sea surface salinity equivalent to about a "pinch" (i.e., 1/6 of a teaspoon) of salt in 1 gallon of water. By measuring sea surface salinity over the globe with such unprecedented precision, Aquarius will answer long-standing questions about how our oceans respond to climate change and the water cycle. For example, monthly salinity maps will give clues about changes in freshwater input and output to the ocean associated with precipitation, evaporation, ice melting, and river runoff. Aquarius data will also be used to track the formation and movement of huge water masses that regulate ocean circulation and Earth's climate.

-/+ Key Staff

- Deputy Principal Investigator: David M Le Vine

Arctic Mars Analogue Svalbard Expedition (AMASE)

AMASE has established Svalbard as a test bed for life-detection technology that will be used on future NASA and ESA 'Search for Life' mission to Mars.

Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS)

The Arctic is undergoing significant environmental changes related to global climate change. Now, NASA is extensively studying the role of air pollution in this climate-sensitive region as part of the ARCTAS field campaign, the largest airborne experiment ever to do so.

Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory

The Astrobiology Analytical Laboratory is dedicated to the study of organic compounds derived from Stardust and future sample return missions, meteorites, lab simulations of Mars, interstellar, proto-planetary, and cometary ices and grains, and instrument development.

-/+ Key Staff

- Program Scientist: José C. Aponte
- Program Scientist: Dr. Jamie Elsila Cook
- Program Scientist: Aaron S Burton
- Program Scientist: Dr. Michael P Callahan
- Program Scientist: Daniel P Glavin
- Program Scientist: Dr. Jennifer Claire Stern
- Program Scientist: Ms. Mildred G Martin
- Principal Investigator: Dr. Jason P Dworkin

Atmospheric Lidar for Validation, Interagency Collaboration and Education (ALVICE)

ALVICE (Atmospheric Lidar for Validation, Interagency Collaboration and Education) is a ground based mobile lidar that is a roving transfer standard within the Network for the Detection for Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). The lidar measurements are water vapor mixing ratio, aerosol backscatter, extinction, depolarization, cloud liquid and ice water and rotational Raman temperature measurements. In addition to these lidar-based measurements additional equipment is carried in the trailer to provide balloon borne measurements (Vaisala RS-92 and Cryogenic Frostpoint hygrometer), surface reference measurements of pressure, temperature and RH as well as total column water using GPS.

Atmospheric Pressure Sounder

The long-term goal of this activity is to demonstrate the feasibility of a laser sounder instrument capable of measuring the surface-pressure field for the entire air column from satellite-to-ground with global coverage. The earth's surface pressure is a vital component of a variety of important scientific measurements, which are being undertaken at Goddard. Accurate knowledge of the surface pressure can enable calibration of 2-D measurements of CO2 content in the atmosphere and greatly improve the fidelity of surface water redistribution measurements from time-varying gravity fields. It is also important in weather prediction and atmospheric modeling.

Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM)

The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is a U.S. Department of Energy scientific user facility for the study of global climate change by the national and international research community.

Atmospheric System Research (ASR DOE)

The U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric System Research is an observation-based research program created in October 2009 to advance process-level understanding of the key interactions among aerosols, clouds, precipitation, radiation, dynamics, and thermodynamics, with the ultimate goal of reducing the uncertainty in global and regional climate simulations and projections.

Aura

Aura (Latin for breeze) was launched July 15, 2004. Aura is part of the Earth Science Projects Division, a program dedicated to monitoring the complex interactions that affect the globe using NASA satellites and data systems. Aura's four instruments study the atmosphere's chemistry and dynamics. The satellite's measurements will enable scientists to investigate questions about ozone trends, air quality changes, and their linkage to climate change. Aura's measurements will provide accurate data for predictive models and provide useful information for local and national agency decision support systems.

-/+ Key Staff

- Deputy Project Scientist: Dr. Bryan Neal Duncan
- Deputy Project Scientist: Joanna Joiner
- Project Scientist: Anne R. Douglass
- Program Scientist: Philip L Decola

C/NOFS Coupled Ion Neutral Dynamic Investigation (CINDI)

CINDI involves two instruments on the C/NOFS satellite that measure the concentration and kinetic energy of the ions and neutral particles in space as the satellite passes through them. This information will be used in building models to understand the various structures in the ionosphere, such as plasma depletions and associated turbulence in the nightside, low-latitude ionosphere. These structures can interfere with radio signals between Earth and spacecraft in orbit, thus causing errors in tracking and loss of communication.

C/NOFS Vector Electric Field Instrument (VEFI)

VEFI measures direct current (DC) electric fields, which cause the bulk plasma motion that drives the ionospheric plasma to be unstable. Additionally, it measures the quasi-DC electric fields within the plasma density depletions to reveal the motions of the depletions relative to the background ionosphere. VEFI also measures the vector AC electric field, which characterizes the ionospheric disturbances associated with spread-F irregularities.

Cassini Dual Technique Magnetometer (MAG)

The Dual Technique Magnetometer (MAG), instruments onboard the Cassini spacecraft, is a Direct Sensing Instrument that measures the strength and direction of the magnetic field around Saturn.

Cassini Ion Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS)

The Ion and Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS) is collecting data to determine the composition and structure of positive ions and neutral particles in the upper atmosphere of Titan and the magnetosphere of Saturn. It is also measuring the positive ion and neutral environments of Saturn's rings and icy moons.

Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS)

The Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) measures the energy and electrical charge of particles such as electrons and protons that the instrument encounters.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Goddard Space Flight Center

For Researchers, Code 600