NASA to Launch Five Earth Science Missions in 2014

NASA plans to launch five Earth science missions in 2014, which marks the busiest launch program in more than a decade.

The NASA Earth science researchers plan to use satellites and aircraft to find information regarding issues such as climate change, sea level, fresh water and extreme weather events. They plan to use this information in an effort to help scientists and policy makers find solutions to pressing challenges.

The five launches include the Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2, the Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission, the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System, and the ISS-RapidScat.

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory is an international satellite mission in which NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) plan to provide next-generation observations of rain and snow worldwide.

The Orbiting Carbon Oberservatory-2 (OCO-2) is an Earth satellite mission that aims to study carbon dioxide in the atmosphere while providing scientists with a more clear understanding of CO2's impact on climate change.

The Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission (SMAP) is also an "Earth satellite mission designed to measure and map Earth's soil moisture and freeze/thaw state to better understand terrestrial water, carbon, and energy cycles," stated in the mission description on the NASA website.

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) is "a laser instrument designed to measure clouds and the location and distribution of pollution, dust, smoke, and other particles in the atmosphere." (Also provided by the NASA website.)

And lastly, the ISS-RapidScat is another instrument, and "a replacement for NASA's QuikScat Earth satellite to monitor ocean winds for climate research, weather predictions, and hurricane monitoring." (Also provided by the NASA website.)

Hopefully, in 2015 we will be provided with plentiful information regarding the status of the environment and be equipped with ways to help improve the current state of affairs.