Earth Science and Applications from Space: National Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond (2007)
Chapter: Part II: Mission Summaries
Part II
Mission Summaries
In Chapter 2, the committee describes the observational portion of a strategy for obtaining an integrated set of space-based measurements in the decade 2010-2020. The 171 missions listed in Tables 11.1 and II.2 form the centerpiece of this strategy. In Part II—Chapter 4—the committee summarizes in alphabetical order the 17 recommended missions, providing a more detailed discussion of each. Each mission summary also contains references to the particular sections in the panel reports in Part III (Chapters 5-11) in which the missions are discussed, as well as index numbers that point to related responses to the committee's request for information.2
1 | Note that CLARREO is listed twice because its instruments are recommended for support by both NASA and NOAA. |
2 | The request for information is reprinted in Appendix D. A complete index to the responses is provided in Appendix E. Full-text versions of the responses are included on the compact disk that contains this report. |
TABLE II.1 Launch, Orbit, and Instrument Specifications for Missions Recommended to NOAA
DecadalSurveyMission | Mission Description | Orbita | Instruments | Rough CostEstimate(FY 06 $million) |
2010–2013 |
|
|
|
|
CLARREO (instrument reflight components) | Solar and Earth radiation characteristics for understanding climate forcing | LEO, SSO | Broadband radiometer | 65 |
GPSRO | High-accuracy, all-weather temperature, water vapor, and electron density profiles for weather, climate,and space weather | LEO | GPS receiver | 150 |
2013–2016 |
|
|
|
|
XOVWM | Sea-surface wind vectors for weather and ocean ecosystems | LEO, SSO | Backscatter radar | 350 |
NOTE: Missions are listed by cost. Colors denote mission cost categories as estimated by the committee. Green and blue shading indicates medium-cost ($300 million to $600 million) and small-cost (<$300 million) missions, respectively. The missions are described in detail in Part II, and Part III provides the foundation for selection. aLEO, low Earth orbit; SSO, Sun-synchronous orbit. | ||||
TABLE II.2 Launch, Orbit, and Instrument Specifications for Missions Recommended to NASA
DecadalSurveyMission | Mission Description | Orbita | Instruments | Rough CostEstimate(FY 06 $million) |
2010–2013 |
|
|
|
|
CLARREO (NASA portion) | Solar and Earth radiation; spectrally resolved forcing and response of the climate system | LEO, Precessing | Absolute, spectrally resolved interferometer | 200 |
SMAP | Soil moisture and freeze-thaw for weather and water cycle processes | LEO, SSO | L-band radar L-band radiometer | 300 |
ICESat-II | Ice sheet height changes for climate change diagnosis | LEO, Non-SSO | Laser altimeter | 300 |
DESDynl | Surface and ice sheet deformation for understanding natural hazards and climate; vegetation structure for ecosystem health | LEO, SSO | L-band InSAR Laser altimeter | 700 |
2013–2016 |
|
|
|
|
HyspIRI | Land surface composition for agriculture and mineral characterization; vegetation types for ecosystem health | LEO, SSO | Hyperspectral spectrometer | 300 |
ASCENDS | Day/night, all-latitude, all-season CO2 column integrals for climate emissions | LEO, SSO | Multifrequency laser | 400 |
SWOT | Ocean, lake, and river water levels for ocean and inland water dynamics | LEO, SSO | Ka- or Ku-band radar Ku-band altimeter Microwave radiometer | 450 |
GEO-CAPE | Atmospheric gas columns for air quality forecasts;ocean color for coastal ecosystem health and climate emissions | GEO | High-spatial-resolution hyperspectral spectrometer Low-spatial-resolution imaging spectrometer IR correlation radiometer | 550 |
ACE | Aerosol and cloud profiles for climate and water cycle; ocean color for open ocean biogeochemistry | LEO, SSO | Backscatter lidar Multiangle polarimeter Doppler radar | 800 |
2016–2020 |
|
|
|
|
LIST | Land surface topography for landslide hazards and water runoff | LEO, SSO | Laser altimeter | 300 |
PATH | High-frequency, all-weather temperature and humidity soundings for weather forecasting and sea-surface temperatureb | GEO | Microwave array spectrometer | 450 |
GRACE-II | High-temporal-resolution gravity fields for tracking large-scale water movement | LEO, SSO | Microwave or laser ranging system | 450 |
SCLP | Snow accumulation for freshwater availability | LEO, SSO | Ku- and X-band radars K- and Ka-band radiometers | 500 |
GACM | Ozone and related gases for intercontinental air quality and stratospheric ozone layer prediction | LEO, SSO | UV spectrometer IR spectrometer Microwave limb sounder | 600 |
3D-Winds (Demo) | Tropospheric winds for weather forecasting and pollution transport | LEO, SSO | Doppler lidar | 650 |
NOTE: Missions are listed by cost. Colors denote mission cost categories as estimated by the committee. Pink, green, and blue shading indicates large-cost ($600 million to $900 million), medium-cost ($300 million to $600 million), and small-cost (<$300 million) missions, respectively. Detailed descriptions of the missions are given in Part II, and Part III provides the foundation for their selection. aLEO, low Earth orbit; SSO, Sun-synchronous orbit; GEO, geostationary Earth orbit. bCloud-independent, high-temporal-resolution, lower-accuracy sea-surface temperature measurement to complement, not replace, global operational high-accuracy sea-surface temperature measurement. | ||||
