UM software
takes flight
The hopes and dreams of several University of Montana researchers took
flight this month when NASA launched its Terra research satellite from California's
Vandenberg Air Force Base. Terra is designed to provide daily, detailed information
about the Earth's health. The spacecraft is the flagship of NASA's $7.3 billion Earth
Observing System, a series of satellites equipped to scan our world from orbit as never
before.
UM's Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group, led by director Steve Running, has used a
$7.9 million grant to design software for Terra since 1992. Terra carries five instruments
that will operate simultaneously on a single platform. Running's team contributed software
for an instrument called MODIS -- the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer --
which will measure photosynthesis and evapotranspiration on a global scale.
MODIS will measure atmosphere, land and ocean processes, ocean color, global
vegetation, cloud characteristics, temperature and moisture profiles, and snow cover.
MODIS will scan the entire surface of the Earth every one to two days at a "moderate
resolution" of one-quarter to one kilometer.
"EOS will inaugurate a new generation of Earth remote sensing," Running said.
"Software like what was written here at UM will provide users directly with land
surface images from EOS. Previous satellites have offered only raw data and required the
end user to build the image. This advance should significantly expand the variety of uses
society makes of satellites."
EOS satellites such as Terra will allow researchers to monitor how rapidly carbon
dioxide and other gases responsible for global temperature change accumulate in the
future. The satellites also will measure changes such as deforestation, desertification,
glacial retreat, wildfires, urbanization and more.
"This launch represents a milestone in one of the most significant research
projects on the campus," said UM President George Dennison.
Running and some of his fellow researchers watched the launch live at Vandenberg.
Running has worked with NASA since 1981, when the space agency decided to expand its
scientific research team to include scientists such as ecologists. The oft-delayed launch
was the culmination of years of study by UM researchers, but their role with NASA won't
end after Terra is in orbit.
The University's EOS Training Center -- divided into education and natural resource
training components -- will teach educators and land managers about acquiring and
interpreting detailed NASA satellite data for years to come.
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