NEWS RELEASES
NASA Obtains Instrument To Update The Public on Air Quality Over North America
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through NASA's website.
NASA announces it has secured a host satellite provider and ride into space for the TEMPO, an instrument that will dramatically advance our understanding of air quality over North America. Maxar Technologies of Westminster, Colorado, will provide satellite integration, launch and data transmission services for NASA’s Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO), an Earth science instrument that will observe air pollution over North America in unprecedented detail from a geostationary orbit.
According to a press release, "Scheduled to fly in 2022 on a 1300-class commercial satellite provided by Maxar, TEMPO will make hourly measurements of atmospheric gases – including ozone, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde as well as aerosols – across North America, from a geostationary vantage point 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above Earth’s equator." Concerned citizens, especially avid travelers outside for most of the day, would be interested in this data to make sure the air they are breathing is not tainted. While ozone is a major protector of life on Earth and filters out harmful ultraviolet radiation, it is also a greenhouse gas and air pollutant. TEMPO’s new stream of data will provide near-real-time air quality products that will be made publicly available and will help improve air quality forecasting.
More info on NASA’s Earth science programs can be found here.