Apr 19 2000
From The Space Library
After completing four months of on-orbit checkout and verification, Terra, the newest in NASA's series of Earth Observing System Satellites, became functional. NASA had developed and launched Terra to monitor Earth's atmosphere on a daily basis. Researchers hoped that gathering frequent data would allow a more comprehensive assessment of Earth's climate change. According to Yoram J. Kaufman, Project Scientist for Terra at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), "Terra is measuring and documenting the Earth's vital signs, many of them for the first time." In the midst of public and scholarly discussions of global warming and climate change, the new research satellite was a step toward understanding the causes of the changes. "The data will help us understand our planet, aid in our distinguishing between natural and human-induced changes, and show us how the Earth's climate affects the quality of our lives," Kaufman clarified. The satellite's first transmitted images thrilled scientists. The satellite surveyed North America, creating images in many different layers, to reveal how different levels of population and types of vegetation affected the climate. NASA officials planned to make the images obtained by Terra available to business, scientists, and the public. 90
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