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The Earth Observer: Nov - Dec, 2009
In This Issue
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- Editor’s Corner Front Cover
- Feature Articles
- NASA and USGS Invest in Invasive Habitat Modeling to Evaluate the Risk of Africanized Honey Bees4
- Creating Successful Scientific Visuals9
- Blog Log12
- Meeting/Workshop Summaries
- SORCE Science Team Gathers in Montreal14
- Science Data Systems in the Decadal Survey19
- Aura and OMI Science Team Meeting Summary22
- Report on the CEOS Land Product Validation Sub-group Meeting26
- In The News
- Snapshots From Space Cultivate Fans Among Midwest Farmers31
- With an Eye on Locusts and Vegetation, Scientists Make a Good Tool Better32
- Arctic Sea Ice Extent Remains Low; 2009 Sees Third-Lowest Mark34
- Regular Features
- EOS Scientists in the News36
- NASA Science Mission Directorate—Science Education Update38
- Science Calendars39
Editor’s Corner
Steve Platnick, EOS Senior Project Scientist – Acting
On December 18, NASA’s Terra satellite will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its launch. Terra was the first of the three larger multi-instrument Earth Observing System missions to launch—Aqua and Aura launched in 2002 and 2004, respectively. Its five instruments, with contributions from Canada and Japan, began transmitting science data in February 2000. Ten years later, Terra continues its mission to assess the planet by providing comprehensive information about Earth’s land, oceans, cryosphere, and atmosphere.
From an altitude of 705 km, Terra orbits the Earth more than fourteen times a day in a morning sun-synchronous orbit. Sending home roughly 1 terabyte of data per day, Terra has helped scientists all over the world tackle important Earth system science questions. While Terra’s name implies that her science has a focus on land processes, the data are used by the full range of science discipline communities and includes...
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