Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor
ACRIMSAT is the latest in a series of long-term solar-monitoring missions, utilizing the proven Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor III (ACRIM III) instrument.

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope
Fermi has the ability to detect gamma rays in a range of energies from thousands to hundreds of billions of times more energetic than the light visible to the human eye. Radiation of such a magnitude can only be generated under the most extreme conditions; therefore Fermi will focus on studying the most energetic objects and phenomena in the Universe.

Hubble Space Telescope
One of NASA's "Great Observatories", Hubble uses excellent pointing precision, powerful optics, and state-of-the-art instruments to provide stunning views of the Universe that cannot be made using ground-based telescopes or other satellites.

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is an unmanned mission to create the comprehensive atlas of the moon's features and resources necessary to design and build a lunar outpost. LRO focuses on the selection of safe landing sites, identification of lunar resources and the study of how lunar radiation will affect humans.

STEREO
The STEREO mission traces the flow of energy and matter from the sun to Earth with two identically equipped spacecraft to provide revolutionary 3-D imaging of coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

Aqua - Latin for water
Aqua, Latin for water, is a NASA Earth Science satellite mission named for the large amount of information that the mission will be collecting about the Earth's water cycle.

Advanced Composition Explorer
The Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) is an Explorer mission that studies particles arriving from the Sun, interstellar, and galactic sources to contribute to our understanding of the formation and evolution of the solar system as well as the astrophysical processes involved.

Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere
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.

AErosol RObotic NETwork
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
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.

Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites
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 a laboratory 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.

Aura - Latin for breeze
A mission researches the compostion, chemistry, and dynamics of Earth's atmosphere as well as study the ozone, air quaility, and climate.

Cloud Radar System
Cloud Radar System(CRS) The CRS is a 94 GHz (W-band; 3 mm wavelength) Doppler radar developed for autonomous operation in the NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft and for ground-based operation. It will provide high-resolution profiles of reflectivity and Doppler velocity in clouds and it has important applications to atmospheric remote sensing studies. The CRS was designed to fly with the Cloud Lidar System (CLS), in the tail cone of an ER-2 superpod. There are two basic modes of operation of the CRS: 1) ER-2 with reflectivity, Doppler, and linear-depolarization measurements, and 2) ground-based with full polarimetric capability.

Cloud Satellite
CloudSat's cloud-profiling radar is 1,000 times more sensitive than typical weather radar and can detect clouds and distinguish between cloud particles and precipitation.

Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation
CALIPSO will provide the next generation of climate observations, drastically improving our ability to predict climate change and to study the air we breathe.

Composite Infrared Spectrometer
The Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS) is an instrument on the Cassini spacecraft, now orbiting Saturn. CIRS observes infrared spectra of Saturn, and its satellites and rings. The CIRS scientific team studies the temperature structure, dynamics and composition of the atmosphere of Saturn and Titan. The team also studies the thermal structure of Saturn's rings, and the nature of and warm structures on icy satellites such as Enceladus. CIRS is sensitive to wavelengths from 7 to 1000 micrometers, using several different detectors. The full CIRS scientific team is international in scope, with Co-Investigators located in the U.S., England, France, Germany and Italy. Michael Flasar is the Principal Investigator.

Cosmic Ice Lab
Our research group specializes in studying the spectra, the chemistry, and the physical properties of ices relevant to comets, icy satellites and planets, and the coatings of dust grains in the interstellar medium. Although many cosmic ices are dominated by H2O, they also contain "prebiotic" molecules such as CO, CO2, CH4, NH3, and CH3OH. In studying these molecules we are probing the early, ancient chemistry which eventually led to the origin of life.

Costa Rica-Aura Validation Experiment
The Costa Rica Aura Validation Experiment (CR-AVE) is a mission designed to explore the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) and to provide information for comparison to satellite observations. The tropical region between 30 N and 30 S comprises half of the Earth?s surface, yet is relatively unsampled in comparison to the mid-latitude of the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, observations above typical aircraft altitudes (40,000 feet or 12 km) are even less frequent, making the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere one of the most sparsely sampled regions of our atmosphere.

Crustal Dynamics Data Information System
The Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS) supports data archiving and distribution activities for the space geodesy and geodynamics community. The main objectives of the system are to store space geodesy and geodynamics related data products in a central data bank, to maintain information about the archival of these data, and to disseminate these data and information in a timely manner to NASA investigators and cooperating institutions.

Earth Observing -1
As the first New Millennium Program Earth Observing Mission, EO-1 has validated advanced land imaging and unique spacecraft technologies.

Earth Systematic Missions
The Earth Systematic Missions (ESM) Program includes a broad range of multi-disciplinary science investigations aimed at developing a scientific understanding of the Earth system and its response to natural and human-induced forces. Understanding these forces will help in determining how to mitigate them, appropriately and where possible, to avoid climate changes.

Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization
The Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization (EPOCh) investigation is a scientific component of the EPOXI mission. EPOXI re-uses the Deep Impact flyby spacecraft to observe transiting extrasolar planets, and the Earth-as-an-extrasolar planet, while enroute to a 2010 encounter with comet Hartley-2. EPOCh uses the High Resolution Imager (HRI) with its CCD camera to produce very precise photometry of giant extrasolar planets that transit nearby bright stars. Since the HRI is defocused (see Figure 1), EPOCh is able to collect many stellar photons per exposure without saturating the detector, and thus produce very precise photometry of transits. The EPOCh team is using these data to refine the physical properties of the giant planets, search for rings and moons that may orbit them, and search for smaller planets in these systems, down to the size of Earth.

Galaxy Evolution Explorer
GALEX observes galaxies in ultraviolet light. These observations tell scientists how galaxies, the basic structures of our Universe, evolve and change. GALEX also probes the causes of star formation during a period when most of the stars and elements we see today had their origins.

Geoscience Laser Altimeter System
The Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) instrument on ICESat will determine the distance from the satellite to the Earth?s surface and to intervening clouds and aerosols. It will do this by precisely measuring the time it takes for a short pulse of laser light to travel to the reflecting object and return to the satellite. Although surveyors routinely use laser methods, the challenge for ICESat is to perform the measurement 40 times a second from a platform moving 26,000 km (16,000 mi) per hour. In addition, ICESat will be 600 km above the Earth and the precise locations of the satellite in space and the laser beam on the surface below must be determined at the same time.

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites
GOES is a series of satellites that provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes and hurricanes. GOES-O, the second spacecraft in the GOES-NOP Series of satellites, launched June 27, 2009, at 6:51 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Goddard Cumulus Ensemble
The Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model, a cloud resolving model (CRM), has been developed and improved at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center over the past two decades. The development and main features of the GCE model were published in Tao and Simpson (1993) and Tao et al. (2003b). A review of the applications of the GCE model to develop a better understanding of precipitation processes can be found in Simpson and Tao (1993) and Tao (2003). The 3D version of the GCE model is typically run using 256 x 256 up to 1024 x 1024 horizontal grid points at 1-2 km resolution or better. An MPI version of the GCE model was recently developed (Juang et al. 2006). It is well documented and easy to modify and improve. It is also flexible enough to run on many different platforms using any number of CPUs.

Goddard Lidar Observatory for Wind
It is a mobile Doppler lidar system based on double edge direct detection technology. It consists of a molecular system at 355nm and a aerosol system at 1064nm.

Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment
Twin satellites launched in March 2002, are making detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field which will lead to discoveries about gravity and Earth's natural systems.

High Energy Transient Explorer
The HETE-2 program is an international collaboration to help unravel the mystery of Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRBs). The primary goal of HETE-2 is to determine the origin and nature of cosmic gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) by simultaneous observation of soft and medium X-rays and gamma-rays to provide precise localization of GRB's and identification of counterparts to these explosions. HETE-2 was launched on October 9, 2000 and declared fully operational on February 6, 2001.

Holographic Airborne Rotating Lidar Instrument Experiment
The HARLIE transceiver is based on a volume phase holographic optical elements (HOE) made in dichromated gelatin (DCG) sandwiched between 2 layers of high quality float glass. It demonstrates the practical application of this technology to a compact scanning lidar system at 1064 nm wavelength. The HOE has the ability to withstand moderately high laser power and energy loading and is of sufficient optical quality for most direct detection systems,and overall efficiency rivaling conventional receivers. It's size and weight are approximately half of similar performing scanning systems using reflective optics.

Ice Cloud and Land Elevation Mission
The ICESat mission will provide multi-year elevation data regarding ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds common over polar areas.

International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory
INTEGRAL provides a new insight into the most violent and exotic objects of the Universe and helps us to understand processes such as the formation of new chemical elements. Environments of extreme temperature and density, near the event-horizons of black holes, are a major topic of study with INTEGRAL.

Jason
Jason-1 is the first follow-on to the highly successful TOPEX/Poseidon mission that measured ocean surface topography.

Land Satellite
The Landsat Program is a series of Earth-observing satellite missions jointly managed by NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey.

Land Satellite 7
Landsat 7 is a U.S. satellite used to acquire remotely sensed images of the Earth's land surface and surrounding coastal regions. This site features Landsat 7 data characteristics, science and education applications, technical documentation, program policy, and history. It is maintained by the Landsat 7 Project Science Office at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Images acquired by Landsat satellites were used to produce the first composite multi-spectral mosaic of the 48 contiguous United States. Landsat imagery has provided critically important information for monitoring agricultural productivity, water resources, urban growth, deforestation, and natural change due to fires and insect infestations. The data have also been used successfully for mineral exploration, to measure forest cover at the state level, and to monitor strip mining and strip mine reclamation.

Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica
The "Faces of Antarctica" Website uses the new, first-ever, high-resolution Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA) to familiarize the public with this remote continent, its vast ice sheet, and why what happens there matters to us all. "Faces of Antarctica" emphasizes our themes that exploration and research are both human endeavors, that satellite imagery captures the face of the continent, and that this face is changing.

MESSENGER
MESSENGER will help us answer key questions about Mercury.

Micro-pulse Lidar Network
The NASA Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) is a federated network of Micro-Pulse Lidar (MPL) systems designed to measure aerosol and cloud vertical structure continuously, day and night, over long time periods required to contribute to climate change studies and provide ground validation for satellite sensors in the Earth Observing System (EOS) and related aerosol modeling efforts. Most MPLNET sites are co-located with sites in the NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). These joint super sites provide both column and vertically resolved aerosol and cloud data, such as: optical depth, single scatter albedo, size distribution, aerosol and cloud heights, planetary boundary layer (PBL) structure and evolution, and profiles of extinction and backscatter.

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
The MODIS Rapid Response system has been developed to provide rapid access to MODIS data globally, with initial emphasis on 250m color composite imagery and active fire data. The experience gained during the Montana fires of 2000, when the MODIS team was asked to provide active fire information to the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), has led to the improvement and automation of several of the steps involved in MODIS rapid data provision. Imagery and data are now being provided to a number of users such as the USFS Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC), the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), the U.N. Global Fire Monitoring Center, and NASA's Earth Observatory. Incremental improvements are planned both for the user interface and the selection of products available from this site.

Multi-scale Modeling Framework
The Goddard Multi-scale Modeling Framework (MMF) is based on the coupling of the two-dimensional Goddard Cumulus Ensemble Model (GCE) and the finite-volume GCM (fvGCM). The MMF, which replaces cloud parameterizations with a cloud resolving model (CRM), is a very promising approach in climate modeling. It provides a way to couple low-resolution and high-resolution model physics in an unified framework. The embedded CRMs can explicitly simulate cloud dynamical and physical processes and provide cloud properties and statistics that match the scale of high-resolution satellite observations.

NASA Center for Computational Sciences
The NASA Center for Computational Sciences (NCCS) is one of the world's most powerful supercomputer and data storage centers. It supports NASA missions and programs as well as university communities on a national basis, enabling Earth and space sciences research through computational modeling by providing access to state-of-the-art high-performance computing, leading-edge mass storage technologies, high-speed networking, and High Performance Computing expertise.

NASA's HEASARC
The High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) is the primary archive for NASA missions dealing with extremely energetic phenomena, from black holes to the Big Bang. Having recently merged with the Legacy Archive for Microwave Background Data Analysis (LAMBDA), it includes data obtained by NASA's high-energy astronomy missions from the extreme ultraviolet through gamma-ray bands, along with missions that study the relic cosmic microwave background.

New Horizons spacecraft
On January 19, 2006, the New Horizons spacecraft lifted off from Kennedy Space Center aboard an Altas V launch vehicle. It quickly became the fastest spacecraft to reach the moon and head out into the solar system on its journey to Pluto and then beyond to the Kuiper Belt. On Feb. 28, 2007, New Horizons had a close flyby of Jupiter, using the giant planet for a gravity assist. Lab personnel were involved in the planning and analysis of science observations of Jupiter using the New Horizons cameras and also the Hubble Space Telescope and NASA's IRTF in support of the flyby. More recently, New Horizons passed the orbit of Saturn on June 8, 2008 (too distant for a gravity assist or observations) and is en route to a Pluto encounter in July 2015.

NOAA Environmental Satellites
NOAA-N Prime is the latest in a series of polar-orbiting satellites collecting information to improve weather prediction and climate research across the globe.

Ocean Surface Topography Mission
OSTM measures sea surface height by using radar altimeter mounted on a low-Earth observing sattelite called Jason-2

OceanColor
Recent topics and imagery of interest to the OceanColor community.

Quick Scatterometer
The Quick Scatterometer, or QuikScat, replaces the NASA Scatterometer (NSCAT) instrument on Japan's Midori satellite.

Raman Airborne Spectroscopic Lidar
RASL was developed under the first NASA Instrument Incubator program. The first laboratory measurements with RASL were taken in September 2002. It is now being configured for aircraft flight. It is the first airborne lidar system to offer the combined measurements of water vapor mixing ratio, aerosol scattering ratio, aerosol backscattering coefficient, aerosol depolarization and liquid water mixing ratio.

RHESSI
The primary scientific objective of RHESSI is to study the processes that take place in the solar atmosphere during a flare.

Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer
RXTE observes the fast-moving, high-energy worlds of black holes, neutron stars, X-ray pulsars and bursts of X-rays that light up the sky and then disappear forever. For RXTE, the trick to observing these kinds of objects is all in the timing -- an ability to observe changes in X-ray brightness that occur in a mere thousandths of a second, or over several years.

SCANNING RAMAN LIDAR
The SRL makes use of Raman scattering in the atmosphere to measure various atmospheric properties. This permits the study and improved understanding of mesoscale dynamics, warm and cold clouds and aerosols.

Science On a Sphere
This mesmerizing visualization system developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses computers and video projectors to display animated data on the outside of a suspended, 6-foot diameter, white sphere. Four strategically placed projectors work in unison to coat the sphere with data such as '3-D surface of the earth and Nighttime Lights,' 'moon and Mars' and 'X-Ray Sun.' Maurice Henderson and system administrators, Pankaj Jaiswal and Kevin Miller, have contributed their time and expertise to the deployment of Science on a Sphere at Goddard's Visitor Center.

Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor
The purpose of the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project is to provide quantitative data on global ocean bio-optical properties to the Earth science community. Subtle changes in ocean color signify various types and quantities of marine phytoplankton (microscopic marine plants), the knowledge of which has both scientific and practical applications. The SeaWiFS Project will develop and operate a research data system that will process, calibrate, validate, archive and distribute data received from an Earth-orbiting ocean color sensor. A detailed description of the objectives, organization and operations as well as the current status of the SeaWiFS Project is available.

SeaStar Spacecraft
The SeaStar satellite carries the SeaWiFS instrument which is designed to monitor the color of the world's oceans.

SOHO
The Solar and Heliophysics Observatory was designed to study the internal structure of the sun, its extensive outer atmosphere and the origin of the solar wind.

Solar Dynamics Observatory
The Solar Dynamics Observatory will further our understanding of the sun's influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time, and in many wavelengths simultaneously.

Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment
A NASA-sponsored satellite mission that will provide state-of-the-art measurements of incoming x-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared,and total solar radiation.

Spitzer Space Telescope
The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility) was launched into space by a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 25 August 2003. During its mission, Spitzer will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space between wavelengths of 3 and 180 microns (1 micron is one-millionth of a meter). Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground.

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA)
SOFIA is a 2.5-meter telescope for infrared to far-infrared astrophysics carried aboard a Boeing 747-SP aircraft. GSFC is responsible for the SAFIRE instrument.

Surface-sensing Measurements for Atmospheric Radiative Transfer/Chemical, Optical, & Microphysical Measurements of In-situ Troposphere
Surface-sensing Measurements for Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SMART)-Chemical, Optical, & Microphysical Measurements of In-situ Troposphere (COMMIT) is a suite of instruments that take measurements (both in-situ and by remote sensing) to characterize, as completely as possible, the atmosphere at a given location. SMART and COMMIT are both mobile, which allows them to be sent to locations that exhibit interesting atmospheric phenomena and to participate in coordinated measurement campaigns.

Suzaku
Suzaku (formerly Astro-E2) is Japan's fifth X-ray Astronomy mission. It was developed at the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (ISAS/JAXA), Japan, in collaboration with U.S. (NASA/GSFC, MIT) and Japanese institutions, and launched on 2005 July 10. Suzaku is the recovery mission for ASTRO-E, which did not achieve orbit during launch in February 2000.

Swift
Swift's goal is to solve the gamma-ray burst mystery. Do they signal the birth of a black hole in a massive stellar explosion? Are they the product of the collision of two neutron stars? Within seconds of detecting a burst, Swift relays a burst's location to ground stations, allowing both ground-based and space-based telescopes around the world the opportunity to observe the burst's afterglow.

Terra
The Terra (formerly called EOS AM-1) satellite is the flagship of NASA's Earth Science Missions. 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.

THEMIS
The THEMIS satellites help scientists answer questions about changes in aurorae, commonly called the Northern Lights or the Southern Lights, depending on their location.

TRACE
The Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) explores the three-dimensional magnetic structures of the sun's photosphere. It also examines both the geometry and dynamics of the upper solar atmosphere, called the transition region and corona.

Tropical Composition, Cloud and Climate Coupling
The TC4 study will tackle challenging questions about Earth's ozone layer and climate using coordinated observations from satellites and high-flying NASA airplanes.

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency designed to monitor and study tropical rainfall.

Weather and Research Forecast
The WRF is a next-generation mesoscale forecast model and assimilation system that will be used to advance the understanding and the prediction of mesoscale precipitation systems. It consists of four primary subsystems, (1) WRF Standard Initialization (WRFSI), (2) WRF Variational Data assimilation system (WRF-Var), (3) Advanced Research WRF (ARW) dynamic solver, (4) Numerous physics packages contributed by research community. The WRF model will be used for a wide range of applications, from idealized research to operational forecasting, with an emphasis on horizontal grid sizes in the range of 1-10 km. WRF can resolve the small-scale weather features such as front, localized convection, hurricane core, and topographic effect much better than the global model.

Wilkinson Microwave Anisotrophy Probe
WMAP has made a map of the temperature fluctuations of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation with much higher resolution, sensitivity, and accuracy than COBE. The new information contained in these finer fluctuations sheds light on several key questions in cosmology including the structure and physical parameters of the universe.

WIND
Wind's goals are to study the magnetosphere and ionosphere and nvestigate basic plasma processes occuring in the near-Earth solar wind

X-ray Multi-Mirror
XMM-Newton can reveal the details of the creation of elements by probing the amount of oxygen, silicon, iron, and other elements in stars, supernova remnants, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies. XMM-Newton's sensitive measurements will help scientists explain how gases are heated to extraodinary energies in the corona of a star, and how cosmic ray particles are accelerated in young supernova remnants.

Aquarius
Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global Sea Surface Salinity (SSS).

Astro-H
The Astro-H mission objectives are to: trace the growth history of the largest structures in the Universe provide insights into the behavior of material in extreme gravitational fields determine the spin of black holes and the equation of state of neutron stars trace shock acceleration structures in clusters of galaxies and SNRs investigate the detailed physics of jets.

Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite - R
The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R Series (GOES-R) program, a collaborative development and acquisition effort between NOAA and NASA, is a key element of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) operations. The GOES-R series of satellites will be comprised of improved spacecraft and instrument technologies, which will result in more timely and accurate weather forecasts, and improve support for the detection and observations of meteorological phenomena that directly affect public safety, protection of property, and ultimately, economic health and development. The first launch of the GOES-R series satellite is scheduled for FY2015.

Glory
Glory will help increase our understanding of the Earth's Enegy Balance. Glory is a low Earth orbit (LEO) scientific research satellite designed to achieve two major goals: (1) Collect data on the properties of aerosols, including black carbon, in the Earth's atmosphere and climate system. It will enable a greater understanding of the seasonal variability of aerosol properties; and (2) Collect data on solar irradiance for the long-term effects on the Earth climate record. Understanding whether the temperature increase and climate changes are by-products of natural events or whether the changes are caused by man-made sources is of primary importance.

James Webb Space Telescope
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope, scheduled for launch in 2014. JWST will find the first galaxies that formed in the early Universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way Galaxy. JWST will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own Solar System. JWST's instruments will be designed to work primarily in the infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum, with some capability in the visible range.

National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System
The National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) will provide long-term systematic measurements of key environmental variables begining about 2009. The NPP mission collects and distributes remotely-sensed land, ocean, and atmospheric data to the meteorological and global climate change communities as the responsibility for these measurements transitions from existing Earth-observing missions such as Aqua, Terra and Aura, to the NPOESS. It will provide atmospheric and sea surface temperatures, humidity sounding, land and ocean biological productivity, and cloud and aerosol properties.

Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array
NuSTAR is a pathfinder mission that will open the high energy X-ray sky for sensitive study for the first time.

Polar Operational Environmental Satellite
POES is a cooperative effort between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United Kingdom and France.

Soil Moisture Active-Passive Mission
SMAP will provide global observations of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state, together termed the hydrosphere state. SMAP hydrosphere state measurements will be used to enhance understanding of the processes that link the water, energy and carbon cycles, and to extend the capability of weather and climate prediction models. SMAP data will be used to quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes and to develop improved flood and drought prediction capabilities. SMAP has been recommended by the National Research Council (NRC) Earth Science Decadal Survey Panel for launch in the 2010-2013 time frame.

Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment
The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE III) was the EOS component of the Russian Meteor-3M mission. SAGE III provided accurate, long-term measurements of ozone, aerosols, water vapor, and other key parameters of Earth's atmosphere. Due to a power supply system failure, communication with the satellite was lost on March 6, 2006 and the SAGE III and Meteor-3M missions were terminated.

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy
SOFIA is a 2.5-meter telescope for infrared to far-infrared astrophysics carried aboard a Boeing 747-SP aircraft. GSFC is responsible for the SAFIRE instrument.

Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons
The ASCENDS mission will make global atmospheric column carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements without a seasonal, latitudinal, or diurnal bias. The mission will also measure also measure ambient air pressure and temperature. The measurements made by ASCENDS will allow the mission to: 1) quantify global spatial distributions of atmospheric CO2 on scales of weather models in the 2010-2020 era; 2) quantify the current global spatial distribution of terrestrial and oceanic sources and sinks of CO2 on 1? x 1? grids at weekly resolution; and 3) provide a scientific basis for future projections of CO2 sources and sinks through data-driven enhancements of Earth system process modeling.

Aerosol - Cloud - Ecosystems
The objectives of the ACE mission are to study aerosol and cloud types and properties and measure ocean productivity in the surface ocean layers. Data from ACE will improve climate models and air-quality forecasts and will be used in the prediction of climate change.

Astro-H
Astro-H (formerly known as "NeXT") is a facility-class mission to be launched on a JAXA H-IIA into low Earth orbit.

Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory
The Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity Observatory (CLARREO) mission has been recommended in the NRC Decadal Survey as a key component of the future climate observing system. NASA and NOAA share responsibility for CLARREO.

Deformation, Ecosystem Structure and Dynamics of Ice
Surface deformation is linked directly to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and landslides. Observations of surface deformation are used to forecast the likelihood of earthquakes occurring as a function of location, as well as predicting both the place and time that volcanic eruptions and landslides are likely. Global observations of surface deformation will lead to advances in earthquake science. Improved time-dependent probabilities will benefit the health and safety of the public by decreasing the exposure to tectonic hazards. Monitoring surface deformation is also important for improving the safety and efficiency of hydrocarbon extraction, managing ground water resources, and, in the future, CO2 sequestration management.

Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events
The objectives of the GEO-CAPE mission are to 1) identify human versus natural sources of aerosols and ozone precursors; 2) study the dynamics of coastal ecosystems, river plumes, and tidal fronts; 3) observe air pollution transport in North, Central, and South America; 4) predict the tracks of oil spills, fires, and releases from natural disasters; 5) detect and track waterbourne hazardous materials; 6) measure coastal health; and 7) facilitate forecasts of air quality.

Global Precipitation Measurement
The GPM mission is one of the next generation of satellite-based Earth science missions that will study global precipitation (rain, snow, ice).

Hyperspectral Infrared Imager
The objectives of the HyspIRI mission are to 1) study the processes that indicate volcanic eruption; 2) analyze the nutrients and water status of vegetation; 3) examine soil type and health; 4) use spectra to identify locations of natural sources; 5) study deforestation and changes in vegetation type; 6) provide early warning of droughts; 7) improve exploration for natural resources; and 8) forecast likelihood of volcanic eruptions and landslides.

Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite
ICESat (Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite) is the benchmark Earth Observing System mission for measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, as well as land topography and vegetation characteristics. The ICESat mission is providing multi-year elevation data needed to determine ice sheet mass balance as well as cloud property information, especially for stratospheric clouds which are common over polar areas. It is also gathering topography and vegetation data around the globe, in addition to the polar-specific coverage over the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.

International X-ray Observatory
a joint effort of NASA, ESA, and JAXA? combines a large X-ray mirror with powerful new instrumentation that will explore the high energy Universe. Launch is planned for 2021.

James Webb Space Telescope
JWST is an infrared-optimized space telescope designed to study the earliest stars and galaxies.

Landsat Data Continuity Mission
The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science, and government.

Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
a joint NASA-ESA project to develop and operate a space-based gravitational wave detector sensitive at frequencies between 0.03 mHz and 0.1 Hz. LISA detects gravitational-wave induced strains in space-time by measuring changes of the separation between fiducial masses in three spacecraft 5 million kilometers apart.

Surface Water Ocean Topography
SWOT is being developed by an international group of hydrologists and oceanographers to provide a better understanding of the world's oceans and its terrestrial surface waters. It will give scientists their first comprehensive view of Earth's freshwater bodies from space and much more detailed measurements of the ocean surface than ever before.

Advanced Earth Observing Satellite
The Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS), Japanese name MIDORI, was the first international space platform dedicated to Earth environmental research. It was developed and managed by the National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). The TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) instrument, along with NSCAT (a NASA spectrometer designed to study wind speed and direction) were the major US components of the platform. ADEOS launched on August 17, 1996 (at 01:53 UT) into a Sun-synchronous sub-recurrent orbit of an altitude of approximately 830 km by an H-II launch vehicle from the Tanegashima Space Center.

Advanced Earth Observing Satellite - SeaWinds
The ADEOS II mission was an international satellite mission led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) - formerly the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan - with U.S. (NASA) and French Centre Nationale d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES) participation. Midori-II is the Japanese name for the mission.

ATLAS Series
ATLAS-1, the first of the ATLAS series of Shuttle flights, was an important part of the long-term, coordinated research that made up NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. Two ATLAS-1 instruments, ACR and SUSIM, had direct counterparts aboard UARS, while other instruments aboard each mission were closely related. Repeated flights of the ATLAS instruments, which were carefully calibrated before and after each flight, allowed for long-term calibration of UARS instruments.

Challenging Mini-Satellite Payload
During its mission, CHAMP generated simultaneously highly precise gravity and magnetic field measurements for the first time. These measurements have allowed scientists to detect the spatial variations of both fields as well as their variability with time. The CHAMP mission opened a new era in geopotential research with: 1) mapping of the Earth's global long to medium wavelength gravity field and temporal variations; 2) mapping of the Earth's global magnetic field and temporal variations and; 3) atmosphere/ionosphere sounding. As a result, CHAMP data has applications in global climate studies, oceanography, weather forecasting, disaster research, navigation, geophysics, geodesy, and solar terrestrial physics.

Land Satellite 1
The first Earth-observing satellite to be launched with the express intent to study and monitor our planet's landmasses. To perform the monitoring, Landsat 1 carried two instruments: a camera system built by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) called the Return Beam Vidicon (RBV), and the Multispectral Scanner System (MSS) built by General Electric.

Land Satellite 2
Landsat 2 was launched on January 22, 1975, two and a half years after Landsat 1. The second Landsat was still considered an experimental project and was operated by NASA.

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Snow/Ice
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) is a 36-channel visible to thermal-infrared sensor that was first launched as part of the Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra payload on 18 December 1999. A second MODIS was launched as part of the payload on the Aqua satellite on May 4, 2002. A variety of snow and ice products is produced from the MODIS sensors, and the products are available at a variety of spatial and temporal resolutions. The MODIS snow product suite begins with a 500-m resolution, 2330-km swath snow-cover map which is then gridded to a sinusoidal grid. The sequence proceeds to climate-modeling grid (CMG) products on a latitude/longitude (cylindrical equidistant projection). Most of the products are archived at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Boulder, CO.

NASA African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analyses
This mission was based in the Cape Verde Islands, 350 miles off the coast of Senegal in west Africa. Commenced in August 2006, NASA scientists employed surface observation networks and aircraft to characterize the evolution and structure of African Easterly Waves (AEWs) and Mesoscale Convective Systems over continental western Africa, and their associated impacts on regional water and energy budgets.

Orbview-2
The satellite also called SeaStar was launched in 1997 by ORBIMAGE, OrbView-2 collects color imagery of the Earth's entire land and ocean surfaces on a daily basis. Commercial fishing vessels use OrbView-2 data for detecting oceanographic conditions used to create fishing maps. The satellite also provides broad-area coverage in 2,800 kilometer-wide swaths, which are routinely used in naval operations, environmental monitoring, and global crop assessment applications.

Radar Satellite
Canada's Radarsat is a radar satellite featuring variable resolution, and different view angles at a number of preset positions. This sophisticated remote sensing satellite is a Canadian-led project involving the United States. It will carry a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), a powerful microwave instrument that can transmit and receive signals to "see" through clouds and darkness, obtaining detailed images of the Earth. This will provide significant advantages in viewing under conditions that preclude observation by aircraft or optical satellites. RADARSAT collects data on resource management, ice, ocean and environmental monitoring and Arctic and off-shore surveillance. RADARSAT also supports fishing, shipping, oil exploration, offshore drilling and ocean research. The RADARSAT provides complete global coverage with the flexibility to support specific requirements.

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) obtained elevation data on a near-global scale to generate the most complete high-resolution digital topographic database of Earth. SRTM consisted of a specially modified radar system that flew onboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour during an 11-day mission in February of 2000. SRTM collected an unprecedented 8.6 Terabytes of interferometric C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data (equivalent to about 14,317 CDs). This data will be processed to produce a rectified terrain-corrected mosaic of approximately 80% of the Earth's land surface topography (between 60 degrees North and 56 degrees South latitude) at 30-meter resolution. This will be the most accurate and complete topographic map of Earth's surface that has ever been assembled.

Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C
Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR), part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, was a joint U.S.-German-Italian project that studied changes to our global environment. The instrument was flown aboard two the space shuttle Endeavour's missions, STS-59 from April 9-20, 1994 and STS-68 from September 30-October 11, 1994.

The Ocean Topography Experiment POSEIDON
TOPEX/Poseidon monitored global ocean circulation, improved global climate predictions, and tracked El Ni?o conditions and ocean eddies. After over 62,000 orbits, the satellite has ceased operations. TOPEX/Poseidon remains in orbit 830 miles above the Earth, posing no threat to the planet.

Tomographic Experiment using Radiative Recombinative Ionospheric EUV and Radio Sources
The Tomographic Experiment using Radiative Recombinative Ionospheric EUV and Radio Sources (TERRIERS) mission was a very small "University-class" explorer intended to study a number of ionospheric and thermospheric phenomena, and test the utility of long-term solar EUV (extreme ultraviolet) irradiance measurements. Shortly after launch, the spacecraft failed to properly orient its solar panels towards the Sun and ran out of battery power.

Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer-Earth Probe
The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, launched onboard an Earth Probe Satellite (TOMS-EP), continued NASA's long-term daily mapping of the global distribution of the Earth's atmospheric ozone. TOMS-EP made high-resolution measurements of the total column amount of ozone from space. These measurements began when the instrument was aboard NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite (1978) and the Russian Meteor-3 satellite (1994).

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite
After a 14-year deployment on a mission to collect data on Earth's atmosphere and its interactions with the Sun, NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) ceased operations on December 12, 2005. Launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery on September 15, 1991, the seven-ton spacecraft orbited the Earth more than 78,000 times, using 10 onboard scientific instruments to collect data on a variety of chemicals, including carbon dioxide, ozone, chlorine, methane, nitrogen oxides and chlorofluorocarbons.