MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109
TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 1999
TERRA EARTH SCIENCE MISSION RESET FOR LAUNCH DEC. 18
The launch of NASA's Earth-observing Terra satellite from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.,
aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS rocket has been tentatively rescheduled for Saturday, Dec. 18,
after cancellation of today's launch attempt due to a launch ground-system problem. The launch
window for Saturday's attempt is 25 minutes in duration, extending from 10:33 to 10:58 a.m. PST
(1:33 to 1:58 p.m. EST).
Terra bears state-of-the-art instruments, including two managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., to study interactions between the land, atmosphere, ocean and
life on the planet.
Terra, managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., is the NASA flagship
mission in a new series of spacecraft dedicated to the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
Terra carries five sophisticated instruments with measurement and accuracy capabilities never
before flown. See http://eos-am.gsfc.nasa.gov for
details on the mission.
Terra takes a global approach to data collection that will enable scientists to study the
interaction among the four spheres of the Earth system -- the oceans, lands, atmosphere and
biosphere. Long-term weather and climate prediction requires the collection of better data over
longer periods to understand the links between these spheres.
The two instruments managed by JPL are:
- The JPL-built Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer, called MISR, which will improve our
understanding of the Earth's ecology and climate by studying how changes in the amounts, types,
and distribution of clouds, airborne particulates, and surface covers can affect our
climate. See http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov for more
information.
- The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer, called ASTER, a joint
U.S.-Japanese instrument, which will produce detailed global, regional and local image maps of
land surface temperature, reflectance and elevation and other characteristics. ASTER
is the only high-spatial resolution instrument on Terra, and the instrument's ability to serve
as a "zoom" lens for the other instruments will be particularly important for land studies,
detecting surface changes, and for calibrating instruments. See
http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov for more information.
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