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CERES News and Events

Posted on by Nyssa Rayne Posted in News and Events

Spring is here — and so are the Terra science team meetings and workshops! Here’s a list of upcoming Team Meetings and Workshops related to the Terra mission, with additional information about each in the post below this list.

  • 2023 MODIS/VIIRS Science Team Meeting
  • 2023 NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Science Team Meeting
  • CERES 38th Science Team Meeting
  • UCAR Remote Sensing Initiative Workshop
  • NASA’s Terra, Aqua, and Aura Data Continuity Workshop

2023 MODIS/VIIRS Science Team Meeting

The MODIS/VIIRS Science Team Meeting will be held May 1- 4, 2023 at The Hotel at The University of Maryland. Registration will be available soon. Stay tuned to the MODIS Website for more information as it’s made available.

2023 NASA Land-Cover and Land-Use Change (LCLUC) Science Team Meeting 

NASA’s Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems (CC&E) focus area will be hosting the next Joint Science Workshop (JSW) on May 8-12, 2023 at The Hotel in College Park, MD. The first two days (May 8-9) will be LCLUC meeting with an emphasis on the early career scientists’ projects. Next two days will be joint meeting with other NASA Earth Science programs of the Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Focus Area at plenary sessions. For more information, visit the LCLUC Meeting website.

CERES 38th Science Team Meeting

The CERES 38th Science Team Meeting will be held May 9-11, 2023 at the Pearl Young Theater on the campus of Langley Research Center, Hampton VA. For more information and a PDF of the agenda, please visit the CERES website.

UCAR Remote Sensing Initiative Workshop

This new Initiative provides a focal point for UCAR satellite remote sensing instrumentation, data and science activities, and promotes collaboration across the organization. For more information on this event, visit the UCAR Remote Sensing Initiative website.

NASA’s Terra, Aqua, and Aura Data Continuity Workshop

Image of the three satellites - Terra, Aqua, and Aura - with the following text: Request for Information to inform NASA's Terra, Aqua, and Aura Data Continuity Workshop

NASA recently released a new NASA Request for Information (RFI), seeking input from the science community and stakeholders on data product continuity needs, capabilities, and gaps as NASA’s Terra, Aqua, and Aura missions reach the end of their operational life.

NASA will use these RFI responses to help plan a Terra/Aqua/Aura data continuity workshop. This workshop will determine needs, evaluate current capabilities, identify gaps, and specify potential actions for these missions. The Terra, Aqua, and Aura Data Continuity Workshop will be virtual and is currently scheduled for May 23-25, 2023, from 11am – 4pm Eastern Time.

For more information and updates, visit the NASA NSPIRES platform (linked above), review the full RFI PDF linked here, or see the following linked FAQ document.

Posted on by Nyssa Rayne Posted in News and Events

From undergoing an orbit lowering to headlining workshops on novel drifting data, Terra has had a big year so far! (And that’s not even accounting for the satellite’s continuous collection of high quality, earth science data, with no unintended interruptions!)

This news post will provide several important updates on recent instrument team meetings, upcoming virtual workshops featuring Terra, and an overview of three early career scientists using Terra data in their research.

Keep checking the website often for more updates and information on all things Terra!

2022 Meetings and Conferences

  • The CERES instrument team participated in the Fall 2022 Earth Radiation Budget Workshop in Hamburg, Germany from October 12 – 14, 2022. More information, including an agenda and presentation slide decks, can be found on the CERES website.
  • Several members of the Terra team participated in the 22nd William T. Pecora Memorial Remote Sensing Symposium in Denver, CO from October 23 – 28, 2022. More information available on the Pecora 22 website.
  • The ASTER instrument team will hold a science and interface meeting in Tokyo, Japan from November 7-9, 2022.
  • The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall 2022 meeting will be held in Chicago, IL from December 12 – 16, 2022. For more information and an agenda, visit the AGU Fall Meeting 2022 website.

Upcoming Terra Workshops and Community Forums

Here’s a reminder that it’s your last chance to sign up for the virtual Terra, Aqua, and Aura Drifting Orbits Workshop that starts tomorrow, November 1-2, 2022. For more information and registration, visit the Terra website (or register here!).

On December 8th, 2022 from 12:30 PM – 3:30 PM ET, the Terra team will be hosting a virtual community forum on Terra’s recent orbit lowering maneuvers (that took place October 12th and 18th). See the graphic below for more information and a QR code linking directly to the Webex webinar registration page.

Infographic on upcoming virtual community forum on Terra satellite's new lower orbit.
Information on Terra’s Lower Orbit Community Forum (virtual webinar) scheduled for December 8, 2022, from 12:30 PM to 3:30 PM ET.

Highlighting Two Decades of Terra Talent

Last week, several NASA Early Career researchers presented their current scientific work during the 2022 Early Career Scientist Forum (full agenda linked here).

Kathleen McKee

Explosive Volcanic Eruption Dynamics

Kathleen incorporates data from Terra’s Multi-Angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) instrument to analyze volcanic ash and aerosols throughout the atmospheric column.

Personal website linked here, and NASA Bio linked below.

Kathleen’s NASA Bio

Ryan Kramer

Global Radiation Budget and Modeling

Ryan uses data from the Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instrument to improve how climate models handle future precipitation predictions.

Link to Ryan’s Early Career Scientist Spotlight, and NASA Bio linked below.

Ryan’s NASA Bio

Andy Feldman

Soil – Plant – Atmosphere Interactions

Andy uses satellite products, like the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), to analyze how changes in precipitation intensity and frequency impacts plant photosynthesis.

Academic Bio linked here, and NASA Bio linked below.

Andy’s NASA Bio

Posted on by Nyssa Rayne Posted in News and Events

Mark your calendars for these upcoming instrument and data team meetings.

CERES Spring 2022 Science Team Meeting: April 26-28, 2022

You can find more information, including the meeting agenda and virtual meeting link, by visiting the CERES website.

Check the Terra website often for additional 2022 instrument team meeting dates, as they’re made available.

Data Webinar — Learn How to View and Download Data from LAADS DAAC: April 28, 2022; 2 pm – 3 pm EDT

Want to learn how to access and download Level-1 or atmospheric data sets from NASA’s Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System Distributed Active Archive Center (LAADS DAAC)? Unsure about how to use the new View Data tool? Join experts from LAADS DAAC to learn about how to search and order from LAADS DAAC’s vast collection of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), European Space Agency Copernicus Sentinel-3A and -3B, and ESA Envisat MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) datasets. Also, learn how to order datasets with post-processing operations in the Find Data tool, allowing researchers to download just the data they need, in the desired output. You can find more information on the webinar homepage, and can register for the webinar using this link (also available on the webinar homepage).

Posted on by Tassia Owen Posted in News and Events

The 36th CERES Science Team Meeting was held on October 12 – 14, 2021.

For information about the meeting and to access presentations visit https://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/ceres-science-team-meetings/2021-09/

Posted on by Tassia Owen Posted in News and Events

Printed Wire Assemblies Back Online

To return function to 16 printed wire assemblies, including the two most recent, Terra’s Flight Operations Team rebooted Terra’s solid state recorder, on September 22, 2021. The successful reboot of Terra’s solid state recorder returned Terra to a level that allows full science acquisitions from all five instruments (ASTER, CERES, MISR, MODIS, and MOPITT). 

The recorder reboot took nearly 12 hours to complete. The board-by-board power up sequencing resulted in all 16 printed wire assemblies of the 16 offline assemblies returning to operational status.  Terra now has all 58 assemblies in service, and Terra’s data storage capacity is at the same level it had at launch. There are currently no known hardware limitations to the operation of Terra or any of its sensors and there is currently no official passivation (mission end) date. 

For over two decades Terra has collected valuable data about Earth’s systems. In February 2020 Terra stopped doing platform maneuvers that would control its equator crossing time in order to maintain fuel for collision avoidance maneuvers. The remaining fuel will also be used to lower Terra’s orbit as part of its eventual passivation process.  Now with the printed wire assemblies being returned to full function, Terra will be able to collect full data acquisitions from all five instruments throughout this process.

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.

“The science community views the changes in crossing time and orbit altitude as continuation of normal data collection for those products not affected by the orbital changes as well as an opportunity to do novel science with those that are affected,” according to Kurtis Thome, Terra Project Scientist.  The Terra Project fully expects the Terra platform and all five instruments to operate past 2026 allowing them to maintain their status as leaders in Earth science data production.  Terra’s long-term data record will continue to contribute to the Earth Science Division’s key science questions:

  • How is the global Earth system changing?
  • What causes these changes in the Earth system?
  • How will the Earth system change in the future?
  • How can Earth system science provide societal benefit?

Terra, the flagship Earth Observing Satellite, continues to be a leader in Earth science data, contributing to scientific research and applications worldwide, now with data capacity levels restored by a successful solid state recorder reboot.