New Eyes in the Sky!!!

Meteorologists and remote sensing scientists have new eyes in the sky this week. The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1) lifted off on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket at 1:47 a.m. Pacific Time on November 18, 2017, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

The polar-orbiting satellite, equipped with five sensors, is now moving toward the same orbit as the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite. JPSS-1 will provide scientists with observations of several environmental variables critical to weather forecasting and other types of earth science research, including: atmospheric temperature and moisture; clouds; sea-surface temperatures; ingoing and outgoing energy; ocean color; sea ice cover; airborne particles/aerosols; volcanic eruptions; fires; nighttime lights; and the ozone hole. Like NPP, the new polar-orbiting satellite carries sensors that will continue long-term observations started in the early 2000s by an earlier generation of Earth-observing satellites (including NASA's Terra, Aqua, and Aura).

One of the sensors on JPSS-1 is the Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System Flight Model 6 (CERES FM6), a NASA instrument that measures the solar energy reflected by Earth, the heat the planet emits, and the role of clouds in that process. CERES FM6 will contribute to an already extensive CERES data set that helps scientists calculate the effect of clouds on planetary heating and cooling. The same data also can help improve seasonal forecasts influenced by weather events such as El Niño and La Niña.