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Terra | The EOS Flagship Update on Terra’s New Orbit: Since 2020, Terra has been drifting to an earlier equator crossing time, and in October 2022 was lowered by ~5km in altitude These changes in orbit did not reduce the data quality of Terra products, and only created minor changes to orbital repeat time and swath width (for some instruments)
Terra Instruments Terra collects data about the Earth’s bio-geochemical and energy systems using five sensors that observe the atmosphere, land surface, oceans, snow and ice, and energy budget Each sensor has unique features that enable scientists to meet a wide range of science objectives The five Terra onboard
2025 | Terra Terra, which carries five instruments, launched in December 1999 on a six-year mission designed to study the planet’s land, ocean, atmosphere and biosphere simultaneously as the flagship mission of NASA’s Earth Observing system Terra is a partnership between the United States, Canada and Japan
Data - Terra Terra’s five instruments produce 83 core data products which are distributed through the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LPDAAC), the Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC), Ocean Color Web, Level 1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System, and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
Mission - Terra Terra observations reveal humanity’s impact on the planet and provide crucial data about natural hazards like fire and volcanoes See Terra science Terra is an international mission carrying instruments from the United States, Japan, and Canada
Earth Observatory - Terra Recent Terra imagery captured off the coast of Chile highlight the intricate structures of these clouds March 2023 : “ A Surge of Floodwater for Owens Lake “ In March 2023, California’s historically dry Owens Lake experienced an unprecedented rainfall event that led to the collapse of three sections of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, causing
data - Terra Terra will also continue collecting data after an orbit lowering maneuver planned for Fall 2022 The maneuver upholds agreements to ensure Terra is a safe distance from the other missions in the 705-km Earth Observing Satellite Constellation when fuel to maintain Terra’s orbit has been depleted
Celebrating 25 Years of Terra The week prior to the GSFC Visitor’s Center event, several members of the Terra mission community presented on 25 Years of Terra at the 2024 Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union in Washington, D C For more information, and a list of oral and poster presentations, visit the 25 Years of Terra @ AGU 2024, linked here!
ASTER | Terra Unlike the other instruments aboard Terra, ASTER will not collect data continuously; rather, it collects an average of 8 minutes of data per orbit All three ASTER telescopes (VNIR, SWIR, and TIR) are pointable in the crosstrack direction
Terra’s New Orbit In October 2020, Terra reached a 10:15 AM equator crossing time, and was then lowered about 5km to make room for other upcoming Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) missions, while continuing to drift to an earlier and earlier morning equator crossing time Despite these orbital changes, Terra instruments will continue to collect high quality earth observations