Title :
The afternoon constellation: a formation of Earth observing systems for the atmosphere and hydrosphere
Author :
Schoeberl, Mark R.
Author_Institution :
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
Abstract :
Two of the large EOS observatories, Aqua (formerly EOS-PM) and Aura (formerly EOS-CHEM) will orbit in nearly the same inclination with 1:30 PM ±15 min ascending node equatorial crossing times. Between Aura and Aqua a series of smaller satellites will be stationed: Cloudsat, CALIPSO (formerly PICASSO/CENA), and PARASOL. This constellation of low Earth orbit satellites will provide an unprecedented opportunity to make atmospheric cloud observations. This paper provides details of the science opportunity and describes the sensor types for the afternoon constellation.
Keywords :
artificial satellites; atmospheric measuring apparatus; clouds; remote sensing; Aqua; Aura; CALIPSO; Cloudsat; EOS observatories; EOS-CHEM; EOS-PM; PARASOL; PICASSO/CENA; afternoon satellite constellation; atmospheric cloud observations; equatorial crossing times; low Earth orbit satellites; sensor types; Atmosphere; Clouds; Earth Observing System; Geoscience; Laser radar; Low earth orbit satellites; NASA; Observatories; Sensor phenomena and characterization; Space vehicles;
Conference_Titel :
Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2002. IGARSS '02. 2002 IEEE International
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7536-X
DOI :
10.1109/IGARSS.2002.1025038
