EOS PM-1

USA

Spacecraft n°:

USA satellite n°:

EOS= Earth Observing System - Also called Aqua

Launch data:

Designation	27424 / 02022A
Launch date	04 May 2002 - 09:54:58 UT
Launch site	Va, SLC-2W
Launch vehicle	Delta 7920-10L (#D291)
Mission	Government: Earth Observation / Rem sensing
Sun-Synchronous LEO orbit:
Perigee / Apogee	673 x 686 km
Eccentricity	9,22E-04
Inclination	98.1 deg
Period	98.34 min

Contracted together with EOS Chemistry 1 for $398 million; an option on two more crafts could amount the total to $668 million. Is non-compliant to the NASA safety standard for re-entry.

In Jul 2002, a software glitch cause the satellite to go in safe mode.

Has instruments to monitor rainfall, snow, sea ice, soil moisture and clouds.

Specifications

Prime contractor	NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory/Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency/Equatorial Systems (Brazil)
Platform	AM1200 EOS commun spacecraft bus
Operator	NASA - Earth Science Entreprise
Mass at launch	2934 kg
Dry Mass	2832 kg
Fuel mass	102 kg
Dimension	2.7 x 2.5 x 6.5 m
Solar array
Stabilization	3-axis
DC power	EOL: 4860 W
Design lifetime	6 yrs - still active

Acquisition via TDRS
Telemetry: 2287.5 MHz
Command: 2106.4 MHz
Data: 15003.4 MHz (upto 150 Mbps)

Payload:

AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder)
AMSU (Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit). Also found on the NOAA Poes satellites
HSB (Humidity Sounder for Brazil): 4-channel microwave sounder (150 & 183 GHz)

AMSR-E (Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer)

Built by NASDA, it will mainly collect data related to water (rainfall volume, water vapro volume, sea surface temperature, ocean winds, snow depth, soil moisture content and distribution of sea ice). 324 kg, 12 channels. Also found on Adeos 2.

CERES (Clouds and the Earths Radiant Energy System)

CERES measures Earth's radiation budget and atmospheric radiation from the top of the atmosphere using a broadband scanning radiometer with bolometers detectors.

MODIS (Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)

MODIS measures biological and physical processes on land and the ocean using a cross-track scanning multi-spectral radiometer with 36 spectral bands from visible to thermal infrared (0.4-14 µm). Detector cooling is through a passive radiant cooler, and filters are interference type. 229 kg

AMSU (Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit)

Monitors atmospheric temperature and humidity in 15 bands covering the 50-89 GHz range. 100 kg. Also found on the NOAA Poes satellites

AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder)

Measures global temperatures, cloud properties and radiated flux in 2,300 spectral bands covering wavelengths in the 0.4-1.7 and 3.4-15.4 micron ranges. 156 kg NASA/JPL

HSB (Humidity Sounder from Brazil)

Built by INPE, 66 kg instrument that measures atmospheric humidity in four frequency channels at a horizontal spatial resolution of 13.5 km.

Mission details:

Six-year chronology of the planet and its hydrological processes.
Second satellite in NASA's EOS (Earth Observing System) and a sister craft to Terra. Flying three hours behind Terra in the same 705-km-high, polar orbit, Aqua maps Earth's entire surface every 16 days and will provide a six-year chronology of the planet and its processes. Its main job is to help investigate the link between water vapor, the most active greenhouse gas, and climate.
Three of Aqua's instruments - the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and the Clouds' and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Detector - measure cloud cover and surface vegetation, temperatures across Earth's surface and in the atmosphere, humidity, and the flow of energy though the global system. A second package of three instruments - the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder, the Advanced Micro-wave Sounding Unit, and the Humidity Sounder for Brazil - track water as it cycles from Earth's surface through the atmosphere and back.

External links:

NASA: Satellite description

Ref.: #6, #7, #15, #95, #226 - update: 23.08.19

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