NASA’s unprecedented work in Space Science and Earth
\nScience captured three of Popular Science’s “Best of What’s
\nNew Awards” for 2002. <\/p>\n
\n
\nThe Mars Odyssey mission, the Gravity Recovery and Climate
\nExperiment (GRACE) and the Aqua spacecraft mission were
\nchosen in the Aviation\/Space category. Popular Science will
\nfeature the 100 winners, chosen in 10 categories, in its
\nDecember 2002 issue. Popular Science annually reviews
\nthousands of new products and innovations. To win, a product
\nor technology must represent a significant step forward in
\nits category. <\/p>\n
Mars Odyssey, part of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program, has
\nbeen in orbit around the red planet for just over one year.
\nIn May, data from the mission astounded the scientific
\nworld, when it pointed to the existence of enormous
\nquantities of water ice just under the surface of Mars.
\nOdyssey is also measuring the radiation environment in low
\nMars orbit to determine the radiation-related risk to any
\nfuture human explorers who may visit the planet.
\n“The Mars Odyssey project is pleased to be recognized by
\nPopular Science,” said Roger Gibbs, Mars Odyssey project
\nmanager. “It’s an exciting time, as multiple missions are
\nventuring out to unravel the mysteries of the red planet”<\/p>\n
GRACE is eight months into its mission to precisely measure
\nEarth’s shifting water masses and map their affects on
\nEarth’s gravity field. A gravity field map, which was
\ncreated from only 14 days of data, is proving to be
\nsubstantially more accurate than the combined results of
\nmore than three decades of satellite and surface instrument
\ngravity measurements collected before GRACE<\/p>\n
“We’re very excited by the recognition of Grace as a novel
\ntechnology for studying Earth system science,” said GRACE
\nProject Scientist Dr. Michael Watkins. “What makes it unique
\nis the use of gravity as a new remote sensing tool. We’ll
\nbasically be using these gravity measurements to see changes
\nin the weight of the water in the ocean and the polar ice
\nsheets, which has never been done before.”<\/p>\n
Aqua is the latest in a series of spacecraft dedicated to
\nadvancing our understanding of global climate and global
\nchange. A central role of Aqua, as the name implies, is to
\ngather information about water in the Earth’s system. Aqua
\nis also gathering information about other Earth variables as
\nwell. This information will help scientists all over the
\nworld to better understand the global water cycle and better
\nunderstand the interactions within the climate system<\/p>\n
“Aqua and its six Earth-observing instruments are doing
\nspectacularly well, and it’s a terrific extra bonus to have
\na magazine like Popular Science recognize this and award
\nAqua one of its ‘Best of What’s New awards,”’ said Dr.
\nClaire Parkinson, Aqua Project Scientist. <\/p>\n
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Pasadena, Calif.,
\nmanages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA’s Office of
\nSpace Science. Investigators at Arizona State University in
\nTempe, the University of Arizona in Tucson and NASA’s
\nJohnson Space Center, Houston, operate the science
\ninstruments. Additional science partners are located at the
\nRussian Aviation and Space Agency and at Los Alamos National
\nLaboratories, N.M. <\/p>\n
GRACE is a joint partnership between NASA and the German
\nAerospace Center. The University of Texas’ Center for Space
\nResearch has overall mission responsibility. <\/p>\n
GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Germany is responsible for the
\nGerman mission elements. JPL manages the U.S. portion of the
\nproject for NASA’s Office of Earth Science. Science data
\nprocessing, distribution, archiving and product verification
\nare managed under a cooperative arrangement between JPL, the
\nUniversity of Texas’ Center for Space Research and the Geo
\nResearch Center in Germany<\/p>\n
Aqua is a joint project among the United States, Japan and
\nBrazil. Overall management of the Aqua mission is located at
\nNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. <\/p>\n
For more information on Mars Odyssey, see:
\nhttp:\/\/mars.jpl.nasa.gov\/odyssey\/<\/p>\n
For more information on GRACE see:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.jpl.nasa.gov\/grace\/<\/p>\n
For more information on Aqua, see:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/aqua.nasa.gov<\/p>\n
For more information on the awards see:
\nhttp:\/\/www.popsci.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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