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Aqua
satellite launch sends
UM software into space
Aqua,
a satellite carrying UM-designed software, was launched
into
orbit May 4 aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket from California's
Vandenberg Air Force Base.
Aqua
will measure the Earth's rainfall, snow, sea ice, temperature,
humidity, vegetation, soil moisture and clouds as part of
NASA's long-term coordinated study of changes in the global
environment.
The
size of a small bus, the satellite comes bundled with six
instruments. One of those, MODIS -- the Moderate Resolution
Imaging Spectroradiometer -- uses software designed in the
UM lab of forestry Professor Steve Running.
One
of UM's top researchers, Running directs the University's
Numerical Terradynamic Simulation Group, a longtime NASA
partner.
The nearly $1 billion Aqua orbiter will provide unprecedented
information about the global water cycle. It's the sister
satellite of NASA's Terra spacecraft, which was launched
into space in December 1999 and also uses UM software.
Running,
who has received more than $10 million in grant money from
NASA in the past three years, said the two Earth Observing
System satellites will orbit the Earth at different times,
providing different types of data to researchers at NASA
and his UM lab. Terra hits the Earth's equator at 10:30
a.m. MST each day, and Aqua crosses the equator at 1:30
p.m. MST. The two observation times will give important
insights into the daily cycling of key scientific parameters
such as precipitation and ocean circulation.
"The
names aren't gimmicks," Running said. "They will
each give a different snapshot of the Earth. They built
both sensors at the same time. The only difference will
be the afternoon orbit, but that will allow us to use the
data in different ways."
Running's
lab works to develop ways to describe the structure and
functions of ecosystems -- from regional to global scales
-- using emerging technologies such as satellites, geographic
information systems, computer simulations and visualizations,
and biophysical theory. If all goes well, Aqua should be
ready to assist the lab with its mission by August.
Aura,
the third major EOS satellite, is scheduled to launch in
2004.
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