Missions Overview

On February 24, 2000, Terra began collecting a 15-year global data set on which to base scientific investigations about our complex home planet. This spacecraft will help scientists better understand climate and environmental change. On the Terra Mission Support Page, users can find Ephemeris Data, Satellite Health Status, MODIS Quicklook Images, Data Archives, and documentation, as well as many other elements related to the Terra mission.

Flying in an orbit that covers the globe every 16 days, Aqua will provide a six year chronology of the planet and its processes. Comprehensive measurements taken by its onboard instruments will allow scientists to assess long-term change, identify its human and natural causes and advance the development of models for long-term forecasting.

The NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) is a risk reduction mission for NPOESS, and will be the first major element of the next generation U.S. Earth observation system when it is launched in 2011. NPP is a joint mission between NASA and the NPOESS Integrated Program Office (IPO). NPOESS is the U.S. Government’s future low-Earth orbiting weather and environmental satellite system, which will combine missions currently performed separately by three agencies (NASA, DOD and NOAA). NPP science instruments will provide essential data to bridge climate measurements coming from NASA’s Earth Observation System research satellites, and the launch of the operational NPOESS system is planned for 2013.