Check out part 2 of the NASA Now: A-Train series and learn how NASA uses a constellation of satellites called the A-Train to monitor the Earth system. Five NASA satellites comprise the A-Train. They fly over the same location on Earth within 15 minutes of each other collecting data about the current state of the components of the Earth system.
Link to this NASA Now episode (must be logged into the NES Virtual Campus)
During this episode of NASA Now, you’ll meet NASA physical scientist Lin Chambers, learn about the role of clouds in the Earth’s energy and water cycles, and find out how NASA collects cloud data. Understanding the impact of clouds is an important key to predicting how Earth’s climate may change in the future. Currently, five Earth observing satellites, known as the “A-Train” orbit the Earth. These satellites orbit in formation, following each other and barrel across the equator at about 1:30 p.m. local time each day. This behavior gives the constellation of satellites its name: The “A” stands for afternoon. By combining different sets of nearly simultaneous observations from these satellites, scientists are able to study important parameters related to climate.
Link to the NASA Now video page. (must be logged into the NES Virtual Campus)
During this installment of NASA Now, NASA senior research engineer Judith Watson describes the project she’s currently working on. She’s one of a team of engineers at NASA’s Langley Research Center who are studying inflatable structures that might one day be used to establish an outpost on the moon or Mars.
During this unique episode of NASA Now, astronaut and veteran spacewalker Mike Foreman describes his experiences from liftoff to living and working in space. He was selected to be an astronaut in 1998. He flew on space shuttle Endeavour in March 2008, and he returned to the station on space shuttle Atlantis in November 2009. Foreman has logged over 637 hours in space, with over 32 of those hours in a spacesuit during five spacewalks.
Watch this week’s episode of NASA Now and learn about a mission proposal to send a satellite to Jupiter and its moons Europa and Ganymede. The mission will map the Jovian magnetosphere and its interactions with the Galilean satellites. The mission will characterize water oceans beneath the ice shells of Europa and Ganymede, as we search for signs of life elsewhere in the universe.
The goal of Earth Science Week is to encourage students, educators and the public to explore the natural world and learn about geosciences.
During this installment of NASA Now, you’ll see some of the ways NASA studies Earth. You’ll meet Eric Brown de Colstoun, a physical scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. He describes his work on a NASA project called the Earth Observing System. The EOS consists of a number of satellites measuring the properties of Earth. The remotely sensed electromagnetic data from these satellites are used to examine physical and chemical processes of the Earth system. This allows for a better understanding of climate and climate change, weather patterns, fresh water availability, and other global and local concerns.
Link to the NES Virtual Campus website
The NASA Now program series highlights a current NASA mission,area of research, or career within the agency.
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