yee@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (02/10/89)
Charles Redmond
NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C. February 8, 1989
Randee Exler
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
James Wilson
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
RELEASE: 89-15
NASA ANNOUNCES EARTH OBSERVATION SYSTEM INVESTIGATIONS
NASA officials today announced the selection of scientific
investigations for the Earth Observing System (EOS) program, a
multi-mission observation system of the 1990's to study global
changes taking place in planet Earth's environment.
EOS is a science mission with the goal to advance
understanding of the entire Earth system on the global scale
through development of a deeper understanding of the components
of that system, the interactions among those components and how
the Earth system is changing.
The EOS mission will create an integrated scientific
observing system enabling a multi-disciplinary study of planet
Earth, including its atmosphere, oceans, land surfaces and the
solid Earth. To quantify changes in Earth's system, EOS will be
a long-term mission providing systematic, continuing observations
from low-Earth orbit.
EOS will make use of a new generation of spacecraft, called
polar platforms, being developed as part of the U.S. Space
Station Freedom program. The program is a cooperative effort
that may eventually include five platforms -- two from the United
States, two from Europe and one from Japan -- as well as use data
from future National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration
operational satellites in polar orbits.
Crucial to achievement of the mission's objectives will be
development of the EOS data and information system that will
provide access to data acquired by EOS instruments and to
scientific results of research using these data.
Announcement of Opportunity
Investigation selections were based on proposals submitted
in response to a January 1988 NASA announcement of opportunity.
Proposals were solicited for scientific investigations which
involve the provision of data from Earth observing instruments
and use of data from instruments to be flown in polar orbit on
one of the EOS platforms.
Three types of proposals were solicited: instrument
investigations to include the provision of instrumentation for
flight on the polar platforms including non-Earth science
payloads which require flight in polar orbit; research facility
instrument team member and team leader investigations for the six
NASA research facility instruments to be flown on the various
platforms; and interdisciplinary investigations to provide data
analysis and modeling, preparing for and using EOS.
NASA received 455 proposals in response to the
announcement. Each proposal was evaluated by scientific peers
including representatives from government, academia, industry and
the international Earth-observation community. NASA then
selected, from the ones viewed as acceptable by peer evaluators,
those proposals needed to accomplish the EOS objectives.
The selection breakdown includes 24 instrument
investigations, 6 research facility instrument investigation team
leaders and 87 team members, and 28 interdisciplinary
investigators (20 U.S. and 8 foreign). The various teams
selected comprise 551 individuals from 168 institutions,
universities or laboratories in 32 states and, including the
U.S., 13 countries.
Instrument Investigations and Descriptions
Selected instrument investigations will provide scientific
instruments for flight on the polar platforms and analysis of the
resulting data. Investigations will provide new observations to
improve understanding of the Earth system or in some cases, of
space physics phenomena.
Research facility instrument team members and leaders for
the six NASA research facility instruments were selected. Each
of the instruments are planned to fly on one of the polar
platforms.
Those selected propose to carry out a scientific
investigation with data from the research facility instrument
leading to an improved understanding of some aspect of the Earth
system and to help NASA develop these instruments and analyze
their data. These instruments include:
o Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS)
AIRS will measure atmospheric temperature, moisture and
other properties as a function of height above the ground with an
accuracy and resolution far surpassing current operational
satellite instruments.
o Geodynamics Laser Ranging System (GLRS)
GLRS is a system to study Earth's crustal movements in
earthquake-prone regions and across tectonic plate boundaries by
precisely determining the locations of special mirrors set up on
the ground. GLRS also can measure the surface height profile of
glaciers and polar ice sheets to determine how fast they are
growing or shrinking.
o High Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (HIRIS)
HIRIS is an imaging spectrometer providing highly
programmable, localized measurements of geological, biological
and physical processes.
o Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder (LAWS)
LAWS is a laser detection and ranging system for direct
measurement of tropospheric wind velocities by observing the
Doppler shift in light reflected from wind born dust.
o Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS)
MODIS is an imaging spectrometer to measure biological and
physical processes in the study of terrestrial, oceanic and
atmospheric phenomena.
o Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
SAR is an imaging radar which can see through clouds to
observe properties relating to the geology, hydrology and ecology
of the land, sea ice and ocean waves.
Interdisciplinary Investigations
The selected interdisciplinary investigations include
analysis, interpretation and significant use of data from EOS.
The proposals involve research in more than one of the
traditional disciplines of Earth science and use data from more
than one of the EOS instruments. Several of these investigations
will develop and improve numerical models that will form the
basis of a new predictive capability to forecast the global
environment.
The EOS scientific program is administered by NASA's Office
of Space Science and Applications, Washington, D.C. NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Greenbelt, Md., is
responsible for the first orbiting polar platform. NASA's Jet
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif., will manage the
second orbiting polar platform.
Dr. Dixon Butler is the EOS program scientist, and Alexander
Tuyahov is EOS program manager, both at NASA Headquarters. Dr.
Gerald Soffen is the EOS project scientist, and Charles MacKenzie
is the EOS project manager, both at GSFC. Dr. Jobea Cimino is
acting EOS project scientist, and Michael Sander is the EOS
project manager, both at JPL.