Terra satellite to give Earth a 'checkup'

Artist's concept of the Terra spacecraft

November 24, 1999
Web posted at: 9:43 a.m. EST (1443 GMT)

By Amanda Barnett
CNN Interactive Staff Writer

In this story: 'Fresh view' of Earth Sweeping the planet Instruments on Terra RELATED STORIES, SITES

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Scientists from the United States, Canada and Japan plan to launch a satellite next month that will provide daily reports on the health of planet Earth.

Named Terra, the 10,700 pound satellite was taken to its launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Tuesday. Liftoff is scheduled for December 16 aboard an Atlas 2 rocket.

Terra is the flagship of the Earth Observing System, a series of spacecraft that NASA plans to put in orbit to measure how Earth's oceans, air, land and people function together.

Terra project scientist Yoram Kaufman said at a news conference Tuesday that the mission is the planetary equivalent of a house call and will "start the first comprehensive and well-deserved checkup of the planet."

'Fresh view' of Earth

Unlike previous missions that focused on one aspect of the Earth's environment, Kaufman said Terra will use new instruments to allow scientists to "look on the Earth as a system."

Scientists from the around the world collaborated to identify key measurements that would be taken by the five instruments on board the satellite.

Some of the things Terra will monitor include changes in land cover, climate change, ozone and natural disasters such as wildfires, droughts and floods.

"This is a very complex living, changing climate," Kaufman said.

Having a satellite with multiple instruments will give scientists a "fresh view that could never have been obtained before," he said.

Sweeping the planet

The satellite will sweep the Earth every 100 minutes in a near polar orbit. The data collected will be shared by hundreds of scientists around the world.

According to Dr. Michael King, the senior U.S. project scientist for the mission, Terra will go "from pole to pole" to observe, document and study every aspect of Earth.

Scientist believe the satellite will help them understand how Earth's climate will evolve and how best to manage the planet's natural resources.

The five instruments on Terra:

• ASTER -- Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer. This instrument will take high resolution infrared images of the Earth. ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA and Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry.

• CERES -- Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System. This device consists of two broadband scanning radiometers that will measure the Earth's radiation balance and the role clouds play in maintaining that balance.

• MISR -- Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer. This is a new type of instrument that will let scientists view the Earth with cameras pointed at nine different angles.

• MODIS -- MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. This instrument will view the entire surface of the Earth every one to two days, making observations of land and ocean surface temperature, land surface cover, clouds, aerosols, water vapor and fires.

• MOPITT -- Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere. An instrument designed to study the lower atmosphere and observe how it interacts with the land and ocean.. MOPITT is a provided by Canada and will be managed by the Canadian Space Agency.

Data from the Terra satellite will be downlinked by the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites that are also used to monitor space shuttles.