Terra (satellite)

Terra (EOS AM-1)

Terra (EOS AM-1)
Operator NASA
Satellite of Earth
Launch date December 18, 1999
Launch vehicle Atlas II AS
Launch site Vandenberg AFB
COSPAR ID 1999-068A
Homepage http://terra.nasa.gov/
Mass 4,864 kg (10,723 lb)
Orbital elements
Eccentricity 0
Inclination 98.2°
Apoapsis 685 km (426 mi)
Periapsis 654 km (406 mi)
Orbital period 98.1 minutes

Terra (EOS AM-1) is a multi-national NASA scientific research satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth.[1] It is the flagship of the Earth Observing System (EOS). The name "Terra" comes from the Latin word for Earth.

Contents

Launch

The satellite was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on December 18, 1999, aboard an Atlas IIAS vehicle and began collecting data on February 24, 2000.

Mission

Terra carries a payload of five remote sensors designed to monitor the state of Earth's environment and ongoing changes in its climate system:[2]

Data from the satellite helps scientists better understand the spread of pollution around the globe. Studies have used instruments on Terra to examine trends in global carbon monoxide and aerosol pollution.[6] The data collected by Terra will ultimately become a new, 15-year global data set.

Gallery of images by Terra

See also

References

  1. ^ "NASA: TERRA (EOS AM-1)". nasa.gov. http://terra.nasa.gov/. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 
  2. ^ Maurer, John (2001-November). "Overview of NASA's Terra satellite". hawaii.edu (University of Hawai'i). http://www2.hawaii.edu/~jmaurer/terra/. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 
  3. ^ Stevens, Nicki F.; Garbeil, Harold; Mouginis-Mark, Peter J. (2004-01-22). "NASA EOS Terra ASTER: Volcanic topographic mapping and capability". Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology. http://www.higp.hawaii.edu/~pmm/ASTER.pdf. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 
  4. ^ "MODIS Terra Satellite Images". ucar.edu(National Center for Atmospheric Research: Earth Observatory Laboratory). http://data.eol.ucar.edu/codiac/dss/id=87.047. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 
  5. ^ "MEASUREMENTS OF POLLUTION IN THE TROPOSPHERE (MOPITT)". acd.ucar.edu (NESL's Atmospheric Chemistry Division). http://www.acd.ucar.edu/mopitt/. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 
  6. ^ "NASA's Terra Satellite Tracks Global Pollution". gsfc.nasa.gov (Goddard Space Flight Center). 2004-05-18. http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2004/0517mopitt.html. Retrieved 2011-01-07. 

External links

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