Instrument configurations for the restructured Earth Observing System (EOS)

Abstract

The Earth Observing System (EOS), the major NASA contribution to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, consists of a series of satellites with sensors designed to measure the crucial variables to monitor processes on the land, ocean, and atmosphere, a Data and Information System (EOSDIS) to analyze geophysical and biological products and distribute them to investigators, and a scientific research program. EOSDIS began in 1991 with organization of existing data sets, with the goal of a useful, accessible system in 1994. The launch of the first medium-size EOS platform will occur in 1998, with launches every 18 to 24 months and replacements every 5 years to provide a 15-year series of reliable scientific products. The selection of the instruments that comprise the payloads is designed to address the highest priority science/policy questions, as identified by the inter-agency Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences (CEES) and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).