3. Terra is a multi-national NASA scientific research
satellite in a Sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth.
It is the flagship of the Earth Observing System
(EOS). The name "Terra" comes from the Latin word
for Earth.
Orbit height: 713 km
Max speed: 27,010 km/h
Speed on orbit: 7.503 km/s
5. Focused on measurements identified as important by U.S. and
international scientists, Terra enables research into how Earth's
lands, oceans, air, ice and life function together as an environmental
system.
Terra spacecraft:
Terra, formerly known as EOS AM-1 is the size of a small school bus.
Size: the spacecraft bus is 6.8 m long and 3.5 m across.
Weight: 5,190 kg (11,442 lbs.) at launch.
It carries a payload of five sensors that study interactions among
Earth's atmosphere, lands, oceans, life and radiant energy (heat and
light). Each sensor is designed to meet a wide range of science
objectives. Two of the instruments were supplied by Canada and
Japan.
7. 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. It was
placed into a near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit at an
altitude of 705km, with a 10:30am descending node
8. Mission:
Mission type Climate research
Operator NASA
Terra carries a payload of five remote sensors designed to monitor the state of
Earth's environment and ongoing changes in its climate system:
ASTER (Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer)
CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System)
MISR (Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer)
MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)
MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere)
9. 1.ASTER (Advanced Space borne Thermal Emission
and Reflection Radiometer):
It was provided for Terra by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry
(MITI) and was built to provide high-resolution images of the land surface, water, ice,
and clouds.
New York City, September 8, 2002.
10. 2. CERES:
Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System. Its purpose is to
measure Earth's radiation budget and atmospheric radiation from the top of
the atmosphere to the surface and to provide cloud property estimates. It
consists of two broadband scanning radiometers one cross-track mode and
one rotating plane (biaxial scanning).
Earth's heat, September 30, 2001.
11. 3.MISR:
Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer. MISR was created
to take multiple-angle observations to help assess the amount of
sunlight scattered in different directions. These multidirectional
measurements will help provide top-of-atmosphere, cloud, and
surface reflectance measurements as well as global maps of
surface albedo, aerosol and vegetation properties.
Cloud heights of Hurricane Juliette, September 26, 2001.
12. 4. MODIS:
Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. It is a multispectral
cross-track scanning radiometer that operates in the visible through the
thermal infrared. MODIS was designed to measure high-priority
atmospheric, oceanic, land surface, and cryospheric features on a global basis
every 1-to-2 days, measuring a wider array of parameters than any other Terra
instrument.
.
Snow over Colorado, September 20, 2002
13. 5. MOPITT:
MOPITT stands for Measurements Of Pollution In The Troposphere. It was provided
for Terra by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). The purpose of the sensor is to
measure methane (CH4) and carbon monoxide (CO) in the troposphere for
determining sinks and sources of these harmful pollutions as well as their abundance
and distribution over time.
Global carbon monoxide concentrations, October 30, 2000
14. Spacecraft properties
Manufacturer NASA
Launch mass 4,864 kilograms (10,723 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date December 18, 1999
Mission type Climate research
Operator NASA
Spatial Resolution 13.5km
Spectral Resolution 36 bands ,of which 9 is being used for ocean
studies(405-877nm)
Radiometric Resolution 12 bits
Resolution
15. Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Semi-major axis 7,080.0 kilometers (4,399.3 mi)
Eccentricity 0.0001392
Period 98.8 minutes
Revolution number 8786
16. 2015 was the hottest year ever recorded*, but what does Terra have to do with it?
On January 20th, 2016, scientists from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies
(GISS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released their
analysis based on data gathered on Earth’s surface temperatures. “The length and
quality of the Terra data record makes it well suited as a check of the global
temperature results and can help guide choices on ways to process the surface data,”
27. − Uses include
− Forest fire detection
− Coastal and fisheries studies and research
− Natural resources and environmental research
− Agricultural studies and research
− Environmental hazard monitoring
− Meteorological research and monitoring
Terra Uses
