Steve Platnick, EOS Project Scientist, A-Train Project Scientist
Angelita C. Kelly, EOS Science Interface Manager, Constellation Team Manager
History of NASA studying earth science
“Man must rise above the Earth – to the top of the atmosphere and beyond – for only thus will he fully understand the world in which he lives.” (Socrates, 400BC)
We live in a gifted time in terms of technology
3 main earth observing system (EOS) platforms: individual satellites carry multiple earth observing tools in themes: water cycle, land, tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry
research on …
- atmospheric composition
- climate variability and change
- water and energy cycle
- carbon cycle and ecosystem
- earth surface and interior
- weather
- interdisciplinary science
Constellations:
constellation flying (group of satellites coordinated to fly in tandem so photographs of earth are taken at the same time): A-Train (afternoon constellation) and Morning Constellations
Multiple satellites with different instruments complement each other – provides bigger picture
The Constellations are an international effort, managed by multiple organizations
All scientific data is completely free and web-accessible from anywhere in the world
Students who aspire to work at NASA should take math and science courses as soon as they are offered at their grade levels; there are various choices for a technical career at NASA: scientist, engineering, data systems, computer specialist, analyst, quality control, education and outreach (and there are non-technical careers that contribute to NASA’s work)
Resources:
- A-train: atrain.nasa.gov
- Earth Observing System (EOS) Project Science Office: eos.nasa.gov
- The Earth Observatory: earthobservatory.nasa.gov
- Science Visualization Studio: svs.gsfc.nasa.gov
- MODIS Rapid Response Imagery: rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov