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Atmospheres
Operational

Terra

How is Earth changing and what are the consequences for life on Earth? In December 1999, NASA launched the Terra satellite as the flagship mission of the Earth Observing System to answer these questions.

Terra carries five instruments that observe Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, land, snow and ice, and energy budget. Taken together, these observations provide unique insight into how the Earth system works and how it is changing. Terra observations reveal humanity’s impact on the planet and provide crucial data about natural hazards like fire and volcanoes.

Terra is an international mission carrying instruments from the United States, Japan, and Canada.

Launch Date
November 1999
Class
--
Website
Key Staffs
  • Project Scientist
  • Deputy Project Scientist
  • Instrument Principal Investigator
Instrument

How is Earth changing and what are the consequences for life on Earth? In December 1999, NASA launched the Terra satellite as the flagship mission of the Earth Observing System to answer these questions.

Terra carries five instruments that observe Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, land, snow and ice, and energy budget. Taken together, these observations provide unique insight into how the Earth system works and how it is changing. Terra observations reveal humanity’s impact on the planet and provide crucial data about natural hazards like fire and volcanoes.

Terra is an international mission carrying instruments from the United States, Japan, and Canada.

Related Publications

2026. "Beyond the Urban Heat Island: A Global Metric for Urban-Driven Climate Warming.", Urban Science, 10 (1): 6 [10.3390/urbansci10010006] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Ultra-portable field-capable short wave infrared transfer radiometers: initial system calibration and characterization.", Earth Observing Systems XXIX, 46 [10.1117/12.3027784] [Proceedings]

2025. "Analysis of a saline dust storm from the Aralkum Desert – Part 1: Consistency between multisensor satellite aerosol products.", Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 25 (13): 7403-7429 [10.5194/acp-25-7403-2025] [Journal Article/Letter]

2023. "Multi-LEO Satellite Stereo Winds.", Remote Sensing, 15 (8): 2154 [10.3390/rs15082154] [Journal Article/Letter]

2024. "Evolving Particles in the 2022 Hunga Tonga—Hunga Ha'apai Volcano Eruption Plume.", Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 129 (11): [10.1029/2023jd039963] [Journal Article/Letter]