Spectacular images from Sun probe

Spectacular images from Sun probe
(ABC News) April 22, 2010
Dr Marsden says SDO will also help scientists understand the relationship between sunspot activity and climate change on Earth. "During a period called the Maunder Minimum (1645-1715), sunspot activity almost completely disappeared. It coincided with a mini-ice age when the Thames River froze and there were colder than usual conditions across Europe," he said. SDO carries a Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager which maps solar magnetic fields. It can also look beneath the Sun's opaque surface using ultrasound. Another key instrument is the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly, a group of four telescopes which will study the Sun's surface and atmosphere in 10 different wavelength bands. "Because it operates at different wavelengths ... SDO will help us understand what's going on inside the Sun's dynamo," Dr Marsden said. The third major component is the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment which measures fluctuations in the Sun's radiant emissions. These emissions have a direct effect on Earth's upper atmosphere.

NOAA, Taiwan Developing Plan for Weather Satellite Program

NOAA, Taiwan Developing Plan for Weather Satellite Program
(Space News) April 9, 2010, By Turner Brinton
The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Taiwan have developed initial requirements for a collaborative weather satellite program, and will spend the rest of the year putting together an acquisition strategy with an eye toward launching the satellites starting in 2014, U.S. government officials said. The satellites will use a relatively new method for obtaining atmospheric data called GPS radio occultation, which has been used in operational weather forecasting since a demonstration constellation was launched in 2006.

U.S, Japan begin sharing satellite data

U.S, Japan begin sharing satellite data
(UPI) April 12, 2010
The U.S. and Japanese space agencies say they have started combining elements of their satellite resources to improve a type of Earth observation data. NASA said the partnership, which started Monday, will more than double the quantity of data used to explore earthquake hazards, forest declines and changing water resources in the Americas. "This new partnership between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, known as JAXA, uses NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System to download observations over North and South America taken by instruments on JAXA's Advanced Land Observing Satellite," NASA said in a statement.

NASA Prepares Remote-Controlled Global Hawk Airplane for Takeoff

NASA Prepares Remote-Controlled Global Hawk Airplane for Takeoff
(Tech News Daily) March 30, 2010
NASA is gearing up Global Hawk, a remote-controlled airplane, for its first scientific flights in coming weeks. With its capacity for long-distance, high-altitude flights that can last over a day, Global Hawk presents a new chapter in Earth science for NASA. "It's a very exciting time," said Chris Naftel, project manager for Global Hawk. "This is the very first time that Global Hawk will be used for science." Northrop Grumman originally manufactured the two Global Hawks now being retrofitted by NASA several years ago. These remote-controlled airplanes can fly for about 30 hours at altitudes up to 65,000 feet and were designed initially as surveillance aircraft.

NASA plans big boost to climate research budget

NASA plans big boost to climate research budget
(Washington Post) April 1, 2010, By Marc Kaufman
NASA officials laid out plans Wednesday to boost spending on climate research substantially over the next five years, to make up for cutbacks during the Bush administration. Edward Weiler, the agency's associate administrator for science, said that NASA's Earth Science budget will get a $2.4 billion, or 62 percent, increase through 2015. By that point, the program will have launched as many as 10 new missions, collecting information about ocean temperatures, ice coverage, ozone depletion and the central question of how much carbon dioxide is being released through human activities.

NASA Data Worse Than Climate-Gate Data, Space Agency Admits

NASA Data Worse Than Climate-Gate Data, Space Agency Admits

(Fox News) March 31, 2010, By Blake Snow

NASA was able to put a man on the moon, but the space agency can't tell you what the temperature was when it did. By its own admission, NASA's temperature records are in even worse shape than the besmirched Climate-gate data. E-mail messages obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that NASA concluded that its own climate findings were inferior to those maintained by both the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit (CRU) -- the scandalized source of the leaked Climate-gate e-mails -- and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center.

Esa's Cryosat ice mission given launch date

Esa's Cryosat ice mission given launch date
(BBC) March 24, 2010, By Jonathan Amos
Europe's Cryosat-2 spacecraft is set to launch on its mission to map the world's ice fields on Thursday 8 April. The satellite was due to fly in late February but was held on the ground while engineers investigated concerns about the operation of its rocket. Cryosat will ride into orbit atop a Dnepr vehicle, a converted Russian-Ukrainian nuclear missile. The satellite is designed to make detailed measurements of the shape and thickness of Arctic and Antarctic ice. Its data will help scientists to assess better how changing polar ice conditions affect ocean circulation patterns, sea level and global climate.

India Forestry satellite by 2013: Jairam Ramesh

Forestry satellite by 2013: Jairam Ramesh

(The Hindu) March 8, 2010, By A. D. Rangarajan

Union Minister for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh has announced that the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch a dedicated forestry satellite in all likelihood in the year 2013. Against the biennial exercise in vogue, the facility will help to continuously monitor the forest cover, health and diversity. Similarly, efforts are on to launch an indigenous satellite for monitoring greenhouse gases and aerosol emissions next year, which will place India on a rung occupied by a select few in the world. Speaking to journalists after inaugurating the Indian Climate Observatory Network (ICON) at the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) campus near here on Sunday, Mr. Ramesh called the satellite a major afforestation initiative — a key player in tackling climate change issues.

ESA to launch ice-monitoring satellite

ESA to launch ice-monitoring satellite

(UPI) February 11, 2010

The European Space Agency says its CryoSat-2 satellite has been sealed in its rocket in preparation for launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The ESA said the mission -- scheduled for launch Feb. 25 at 8:57 a.m. EST -- will be dedicated to the precise monitoring of the variations in the thickness of both floating ice in the polar oceans and the ice sheets that cover Greenland and Antarctica. "With the effects of a changing climate fast becoming apparent, particularly in the polar regions, this information is urgently needed to further our understanding of the complex interactions between ice and climate," the ESA said.

New federal climate change agency proposed

New federal climate change agency proposed

(USA Today) February 8, 2010, By Randolph E. Schmid

The Obama administration on Monday proposed a new agency to study and report on the changing climate. Also known as global warming, climate change has drawn widespread concern in recent years as temperatures around the world rise, threatening to harm crops, spread disease, increase sea levels, change storm and drought patterns and cause polar melting. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, announced NOAA will set up the new Climate Service to operate in tandem with NOAA's National Weather Service and National Ocean Service.

France, Germany To Build Methane-monitoring Satellite

France, Germany To Build Methane-monitoring Satellite

(Space News) February 4, 2010, By Peter B. de Selding

The French and German governments on Feb. 4 said they would jointly build an Earth observation satellite to measure atmospheric concentrations of methane, a contributor to the greenhouse effect linked to global warming, to be launched by 2014. Meeting in Paris as part of a joint government summit led by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the two governments also agreed to ask their respective space agencies to map a strategy for a next-generation Ariane rocket, with recommendations due by the end of this year.

NASA Budget Request Would Boost Science Funding

NASA Budget Request Would Boost Science Funding

(Space News) February 3, 2010, By Brian Berger

Earth observation appears to be the big winner in U.S. President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget request for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, which also manages the agency’s robotic planetary probes and space-based astronomy telescopes. Obama is asking Congress for $5 billion for NASA science programs in 2011, an 11 percent increase over this year’s budget of $4.49 billion. The biggest chunk of the $512 million increase would be used to boost the Earth Science Division’s budget to $1.8 billion, a 27 percent increase over 2010. The Planetary Science Division would get the second biggest increase, 11 percent, to $1.485 billion. NASA’s heliophysics budget would grow by around 2 percent to $641.9 million, while the agency’s astrophysics budget — which funds the Hubble Space Telescope and other space-based observatories — would see its $1.1 billion budget shrink by about $28 million.

The ‘new’ NASA will look back at Earth

The ‘new’ NASA will look back at Earth

(MSNBC) February 2, 2010, By Andrea Thompson

NASA's new proposed budget will in part shift the space agency's focus from landing people on the moon back to Earth, with more money slated to go to projects that will help us understand our planet's climate and even plans to re-launch the carbon observatory that failed to launch last year. The 2011 proposed budget for NASA, announced on Monday, cancels the Constellation program to build new rockets and spacecraft optimized for the moon, but increases NASA's overall budget by $6 billion over the next five years. Of that $6 billion, about $2 billion will be funneled into new and existing science missions, particularly those aimed at investigating the Earth sciences, particularly climate .

White House Dissolves NPOESS Satellite Partnership

White House Dissolves NPOESS Satellite Partnership

(Space News) February 3, 2010, By Turner Brinton

The White House announced Feb. 1 it will end a troubled civil-military weather satellite program and instead pursue two separate lines of polar-orbiting satellites to serve military and civilian users. Terminating the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is a blow to prime contractor Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems of Los Angeles, which was to supply the satellite platforms and integrate the overall system. The NPOESS program will now use a different satellite platform, but it remains to be seen whether Northrop Grumman will retain oversight responsibility for the instruments and for integrating the space and ground segments.

Restructuring NPOES

Restructuring the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System
(OSTP) February 1, 2010
The President’s FY2011 budget contains a major restructuring of the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) in order to put the critical program on a more sustainable pathway toward success. The satellite system is a national priority -- essential to meeting both civil and military weather-forecasting, storm-tracking, and climate-monitoring requirements. However, the program is behind schedule, over budget, and underperforming. Independent reports and an administration task force have concluded that the current program cannot be successfully executed with the current management structure, and with the current budget structure. These challenges originate in large part because of a combination of management deficiencies that result from conflicting perspectives and priorities among the three agencies who manage the program. Serious lapses in capabilities loom as a result.

Glacier-melting debate highlights importance of satellites

Glacier-melting debate highlights importance of satellites
(ESA) February 1, 2010
The intense public debate on how rapidly the Himalayan glaciers are retreating highlights the necessity for the constant monitoring of glaciers worldwide by satellites. Since glaciers are among the most reliable indicators of climate change and because they can have a major influence on water availability, knowledge of the recent changes and future behaviour is of great interest for climate scientists and governing bodies. A key to assess these changes or to model their future evolution is the existence of a detailed glacier inventory. Data from satellites allow scientists to measure glacier extent in detail, providing authoritative evidence of trends. They also allow local measurements to be expanded to a regional scale. Considering the valuable role satellites can play in determining the state of Earth’s glaciers, the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) has called for the systematic monitoring of glaciers by satellites in support of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Jason-3 sea-surface height mission secures funds

Jason-3 sea-surface height mission secures funds
(BBC) February 2, 2010, By Jonathan Amos

Europe has committed to build the next Jason altimeter spacecraft to monitor the behaviour of the world's oceans. The decision should guarantee the continuation of a remarkable 18-year record of sea-surface shape until late in the decade. It is the Jason series that has traced the recent steady rise in global sea level by about 3mm per year. The data has become invaluable to oceanographers, weather forecasters and climatologists. Eumetsat, which looks after Europe's meteorological satellites, has indicated that its member states will now meet their 25% share of the 252m-euro ($380m; £228m) project. Most of the rest of the mission cost is being borne by the US and France, with the latter providing the spacecraft bus, or chassis, through Thales Alenia Space.

Visiting NASA expert: Satellite imaging to reduce climate change uncertainty

Visiting NASA expert: Satellite imaging to reduce climate change uncertainty
(Jerusalem Post) January 25, 2010, By Ehud Zion Waldoks
Photos from space have already helped reduce the differences between climate change models and will play a significant role ahead of the next assessment, Dr. Diane Evans, director for earth science and technology at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, said Monday. Dr. Diane Evans, director for earth and science technology at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, lectures on the role of satellites in tracking climate change at Ben-University, Monday. Evans lectured at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the morning and spoke to The Jerusalem Post by phone after her presentation.

NCAR Researching Climate Change

Forecast for NCAR: The atmospheric research center, 50 years old, will continue to grow

(Denver Post) January 25, 2010

As the 1960s began, meteorology was poised to explode as the first weather satellites were set to be launched and more powerful computers were being built. Researchers thought they needed a well-equipped science center if they were going to change weather to a sophisticated theoretical science. So in 1960, 14 universities — with the backing of the National Science Foundation — formed the National Center for Atmospheric Research and chose Boulder for its home. Fifty years later, NCAR has grown from five full-time scientists to about 220 Ph.D. researchers. The 14 founding universities that made up the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research — the umbrella organization that governs NCAR — have been joined by more than 60 other schools, including the University of Colorado.

NCAR's research focus has also expanded from accurate weather forecasts a few days out to the creation of intricate climate models that try to predict how rising greenhouse gas concentrations might change the planet in the next century. NCAR scientists also study sun and space weather, air chemistry and pollution, and how land use and wildfires impact climate.

This Satellite Could Help Save Humanity

This Satellite Could Help Save Humanity

(British Columbia Tyee) By Mitchell Anderson

The media missed the real story about the so-called "climategate" scandal. After thousands of emails were mysteriously stolen from the University of East Anglia and distributed just before the climate conference in Copenhagen, many news outlets seemed content to report the story as it was presented to them rather than bothering to read the emails in the context they were written. A closer look at these candid messages reveals a very different problem than the supposed scientific conspiracy theory that's been in high rotation in the media. This previously unreported story also shows why launching the long-mothballed Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) is more urgent now than ever.

Trio of NASA craft will boost climate data

Trio of NASA craft will boost climate data

(Los Angeles Times) January 9, 2009, By Mark K. Matthews

NASA heads into 2010 with the bittersweet assignment of retiring the space shuttle after nearly three decades. But the agency also plans to launch three new satellites aimed at better understanding the sun and Earth's climate and oceans. Two satellites will examine Earth -- specifically, the concentration of salt in the world's oceans and the presence of aerosols, or minute particles, such as dust or ash, in the atmosphere. A third satellite mission will study the sun and its effect on space weather, including solar flares that can disrupt communication on Earth.

NASA Science Budget Lags Behind Expectations

NASA Budget for Earth Science Lags Behind Rising Expectations
(Space News) December 31, 2009, By Debra Werner
Over the past decade, NASA has convinced the White House, Congress and the public of the importance of investigating the Earth’s atmosphere, oceans and land from space. That success has led to increasing pressure to extend NASA’s Earth monitoring program by launching new spacecraft and instruments, but not to the funding needed to carry out the new missions, said Michael Freilich, director of NASA’s Earth Science Division at the agency’s Washington headquarters. “There is relentless pressure to expand the scope of our contributions,” Freilich said Dec. 17, during a meeting here of the American Geophysical Union.