Weather Missions

From our vantage point above the Earth, we can view Earth as a whole system, observe the results of complex interactions, and begin to understand how our planet is changing.

Senior Reviews for Earth Operating Missions:

Visit the Decadal Surveys page for CLARREO, ICESat-II, DESDynI, SMAP reports.

*Sort missions by clicking Launch Date, A-Z, or PHASE column headers.

Launch Date	A-Z	Phase
20040716 July 15, 2004	Aura The Aura satellite hosts a suite of scientific instruments designed to make the most comprehensive measurements ever undertaken of atmospheric trace gases. Aura's objective...	Operating
20060429 April 28, 2006	CloudSat CloudSat uses advanced radar to "slice" through clouds to see their vertical structure, providing a completely new observational capability from space. CloudSat is one of the...	Operating
19800909 September 09, 1980	GOES D - H GOES-4 advanced meteorologists’ capabilities by continuously profiling vertical temperature and water vapor. This major advancement permitted, for the first time, the...	Past
19940413 April 13, 1994	GOES I - M The GOES I-M satellites are the primary element of U.S. weather monitoring and forecast operations and are a key component of NOAA's National Weather Service operations and...	Operating
20060504 May 04, 2006	GOES N - P GOES - N/O/P is the next series of GOES satellites. The multi-mission GOES series N - P will be a vital contributor to weather, solar, and space operations and science. These...	Operating
20130602 June 01, 2013	GPM GPM Constellation follows the success of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) in initiating the measurement of global precipitation, a key climate factor. Its science...	Under Study
20050520 May 20, 2005	NOAA-N NOAA-N broadcasts data directly to thousands of users around the world and continues to provide a polar-orbiting platform to support the environmental monitoring instruments...	Operating
20121231 December 31, 2012	NPOESS The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is a satellite system used to monitor global environmental conditions, and collect and...	Development
19990620 June 19, 1999	QuikSCAT QuikSCAT mission is intended to record sea-surface wind speed and direction data under all weather and cloud conditions over Earth's oceans. QuikSCAT was initiated as a...	Operating
20021214 December 14, 2002	SeaWinds (ADEOS II) The SeaWinds scatterometer is a specialized microwave radar that measures near-surface wind velocity (both speed and direction) under all weather and cloud conditions over...	Operating
19971128 November 27, 1997	TRMM TRMM is a joint mission between NASA and the National Space Development Agency (NASDA) of Japan. TRMM is particularly devoted to determining rainfall in the tropics and...	Operating

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Sections

NASA Science: Earth

Personal tools

Weather Missions