NASA Releases

Typical clovers have three leaves, unless you happen to be lucky, and NASA's Aqua satellite has provided three different views of Ireland to mark Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17, 2011. With the luck o’ the Irish, NASA's Aqua satellite was fortunate to capture mostly clear views of the Emerald Isle in these near-infrared/visible, infrared and microwave light views acquired by Aqua'™s Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) instrument on March 3, 2011, at 13:11 UTC.

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A study by NASA and university scientists is shedding new light on a mysterious, cyclical wave in Earth's atmosphere that at times profoundly affects our planet's weather and climate.

Using satellite data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (Airs) instrument on NASA's Aqua spacecraft, a research team led by Dr. Duane Waliser of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and Dr. Baijun Tian of the California Institute of Technology, also in Pasadena,, set out to study the structure and evolution of the Madden-Julian Oscillation.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today outlined research that has helped to improve the accuracy of medium-range weather forecasts in the Northern Hemisphere.

NASA and NOAA scientists at the Joint Center for Satellite Data Assimilation in Camp Springs, Md., came up with procedures to improve forecasting accuracy. The scientists worked with experimental data from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument on NASA's Aqua satellite.

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NASA and two Japanese government agencies are collaborating on a snowfall study over Wakasa Bay, Japan. Using NASA's Earth Observing System Aqua satellite, research aircraft and coastal radars to gather data, the joint effort is expanding scientific knowledge about where precipitation falls.

NASA's Aqua spacecraft is ready to ship to Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. to begin launch preparations. Aqua's 170-mile journey will begin late Sunday night, February 24 from TRW's Space Park manufacturing facility, via a special shipping container. Aqua will arrive at Vandenberg on Monday, February 25, where it will undergo final tests and integration with a Delta II rocket for launch in April.

The launch of Aqua, NASA's latest Earth Science satellite, is scheduled for Thursday, May 2, from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The primary role of Aqua, as the name implies, is to gather information about water in the Earth's system. Equipped with six state-of-the-art instruments, Aqua will collect data on global precipitation, evaporation and the cycling of water -- information vital to better understand and protect the Earth.

RELEASE: 02-75

NASA's mission to understand and protect our home planet will mark a major milestone this spring with the launch of the Aqua satellite. Aqua, due to bring us unprecedented insight of our world's global water cycle, is the latest sibling in a family of Earth Observing System satellites dedicated to studying the Earth and our knowledge of global climate change.

NASA’s latest Earth observing satellite, Aqua, successfully launched this morning at 2:55 a.m. PDT. Aqua is dedicated to advancing our understanding of Earth’s water cycle and our environment. Launching the Aqua spacecraft marks a major milestone in support of NASA’s mission to help us better understand and protect our planet.

The Aqua spacecraft lifted off from the Western Test Range of Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., aboard a Delta II rocket at 2:55 a.m. PDT. Spacecraft separation occurred at 3:54 a.m. PDT. inserting Aqua into a 438-mile (705-kilometer) orbit.