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Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. NASA/Isaac Watson NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) teamed up June 11 and 12 to simulate emergency procedures they would use to rescue the Artemis II crew in the event of a launch emergency. The simulations, which took place off the coast of Florida and were supported by launch and flight control teams, are preparing NASA to send four astronauts around the Moon and back next year as part of the agency’s first crewed Artemis mission.
The team rehearsed procedures they would use to rescue the crew during an abort of NASA’s Orion spacecraft while the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is still on the launch pad, as well as during ascent to space. A set of test mannequins and a representative version of Orion called the Crew Module Test Article, were used during the tests.
The launch team at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, flight controllers in mission control at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, as well as the mission management team, all worked together, exercising their integrated procedures for these emergency scenarios.
Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025.NASA/Isaac Watson “Part of preparing to send humans to the Moon is ensuring our teams are ready for any scenario on launch day,” said Lakiesha Hawkins, NASA’s assistant deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars Program, and who also is chair of the mission management team for Artemis II. “We’re getting closer to our bold mission to send four astronauts around the Moon, and our integrated testing helps ensure we’re ready to bring them home in any scenario.”
The launch pad abort scenario was up first. The teams conducted a normal launch countdown before declaring an abort before the rocket was scheduled to launch. During a real pad emergency, Orion’s launch abort system would propel Orion and its crew a safe distance away and orient it for splashdown before the capsule’s parachutes would then deploy ahead of a safe splashdown off the coast of Florida.
Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for a launch pad abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. NASA/Isaac Watson For the simulated splashdown, the test Orion with mannequins aboard was placed in the water five miles east of Kennedy. Once the launch team made the simulated pad abort call, two Navy helicopters carrying U.S. Air Force pararescuers departed nearby Patrick Space Force Base. The rescuers jumped into the water with unique DoD and NASA rescue equipment to safely approach the spacecraft, retrieve the mannequin crew, and transport them for medical care in the helicopters, just as they would do in the event of an actual pad abort during the Artemis II mission.
The next day focused on an abort scenario during ascent to space.
The Artemis recovery team set up another simulation at sea 12 miles east of Kennedy, using the Orion crew module test article and mannequins. With launch and flight control teams supporting, as was the Artemis II crew inside a simulator at Johnson, the rescue team sprung into action after receiving the simulated ascent abort call and began rescue procedures using a C-17 aircraft and U.S. Air Force pararescuers. Upon reaching the capsule, the rescuers jumped from the C-17 with DoD and NASA unique rescue gear. In an actual ascent abort, Orion would separate from the rocket in milliseconds to safely get away prior to deploying parachutes and splashing down.
Teams with NASA and the Department of Defense (DoD) rehearse recovery procedures for an ascent abort scenario off the coast of Florida near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, June 12, 2025. NASA/Isaac Watson Rescue procedures are similar to those used in the Underway Recovery Test conducted off the California coast in March. This demonstration ended with opening the hatch and extracting the mannequins from the capsule, so teams stopped without completing the helicopter transportation that would be used during a real rescue.
Exercising procedures for extreme scenarios is part of NASA’s work to execute its mission and keep the crew safe. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.
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By NASA
Explore This Section Earth Earth Observer Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam Announcements More Archives Conference Schedules Style Guide 9 min read
The Earth Observer Editor’s Corner: April–June 2025
NASA’s Earth science missions have continued to demonstrate remarkable adaptability and innovation, balancing the legacy of long-standing satellites with the momentum of cutting-edge new technologies. The Terra platform, the first of three Earth Observing System flagship missions, has been in orbit since December 1999. Over a quarter-century later, four of its five instruments continue to deliver valuable data, despite recent power challenges. As of this writing, Terra’s Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) – Visible–Near Infrared (VNIR) and Thermal Infrared (TIR) bands, Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and one of the two Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy Systems (CERES) instruments onboard, are all still producing science data. For reasons explained below, only the Measurement of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) instrument has been shut down completely, after 25 years of successful operations. The longevity of the Terra instruments is credited to Terra’s instrument team members, who have skillfully adjusted operations to compensate for the reduction in power and extend Terra’s scientific contributions for as long as possible.
Terra has been experiencing power-based limitations caused by platform orbital changes and solar array impacts. On November 28, 2024, one of Terra’s power-transmitting shunt units failed. A response team reviewed Terra’s status, and discussed potential impacts and options. Consequently, the team changed the battery charge rate and reduced spacecraft power demands by placing the ASTER instrument into safe mode.
In order to maintain power margins, the Terra team also moved the MOPITT instrument from science mode into safe mode on February 4, 2025, ceasing data collection. On April 9, 2025, the Terra project determined that additional power was needed for the platform and MOPITT was moved from safe mode and fully turned off, ending the instrument’s carbon monoxide data record of near-global coverage every three days.
MOPITT was the Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) contribution to the Earth Observing System. Launched as part of Terra’s payload in 1999, it became the longest-running air quality monitor in space, and the longest continuously operating Canadian space mission in history. MOPITT’s specific focus was on the distribution, transport, sources, and sinks of carbon monoxide (CO) in the troposphere – see Figure. The spectrometer’s marquee Earthdata products have included MOPITT Near Real-Time Datasets and offerings from the MOPITT Science Investigator-led Processing System (MOPITT SIPS). From tracking pollution from wildfires to providing data that informs international climate agreements, MOPITT served as a powerful tool for gathering data about pollution in the lowest portion of Earth’s atmosphere, informing research, policies, and even helping to advance forecasting models used by scientists worldwide. Congratulations to the MOPITT team for more than 25 years of groundbreaking science and international collaboration!
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Figure. This data visualization of total column carbon monoxide was created using MOPITT data from 2000-2019. In these maps, yellow areas have little or no carbon monoxide, while progressively higher concentrations are shown in orange, red, and dark red. Figure Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/SVS As chance would have it, the MOPITT Team had planned a 25th anniversary celebration in April, 10–11, 2025, at CSA headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec and online – which began one day after the instrument was shut down. The celebration was a fitting closeout to the MOPITT mission and a celebration of its accomplishments. Over the two days, more than 45 speakers shared memories and presented findings from MOPITT’s quarter-century record of atmospheric carbon monoxide monitoring. Its data showed a global decline in carbon monoxide emissions over two decades and could also track the atmospheric transport of the gas from fires and industry from individual regions. MOPITT is a testament to remarkable international collaboration and achievement. As it is officially decommissioned, its data record will continue to drive research for years to come.
The Director General of the Canadian Space Agency—a key MOPITT partner—delivered remarks, and both Ken Jucks [NASA HQ— Program Manager for the Upper Atmosphere Research Program (UARP)] and Helen Worden [National Center for Atmospheric Research— MOPITT U.S. Principal Investigator] attended representing the U.S.
More information is available in a recently-released Terra blog post and on the Canadian Space Agency MOPITT website.
After continued investigation and monitoring of platform battery status, the Terra Flight Operations Team (FOT) determined there was sufficient power to resume imaging with ASTER’s VNIR bands, and as a result, ASTER once again began collecting VNIR data on January 17, 2025. Subsequently, ASTER resumed acquisitions for the TIR bands on April 15, 2025. (The ASTER Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) bands have been shut down since 2008).
As one long-serving mission sunsets its operations, new missions are stepping in to carry forward the legacy of Earth system science with fresh capabilities and approaches. Launched on May 25, 2023, the NASA Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) mission provides a groundbreaking approach to studying tropical cyclones using a passive microwave sounder CubeSat constellation. TROPICS uses multiple small satellites flying in a carefully engineered formation to measure precipitation structure as well as temperature and humidity profiles both within and outside of storms.
Unlike traditional polar-orbiting satellites, TROPICS’ low-inclination orbits allow for hourly revisits over tropical regions, enabling scientists to better monitor storm structure, intensity changes, and key processes like upper-level warm core formation and convective bursts.
The mission has already significantly contributed to operational forecasting and scientific research. With over 10 billion observations to date, TROPICS data have been used to validate storm models, support early-warning systems, and improve forecasts for events like Hurricane Franklin and Typhoon Kong-rey. Collaborations with agencies like the National Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center have shown the value of TROPICS channels, particularly the 204.8 GHz channel, in identifying storm structure and intensity. The data are publicly available through the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC), and TROPICS continues to set the stage for the next generation of rapid-revisit Earth observation missions. To read more about the last two years of successful science operations with TROPICS, see NASA’s TROPICS Mission: Offering Detailed Images and Analysis of Tropical Cyclones.
While some missions focus on monitoring atmospheric processes, others are expanding the frontiers of Earth observation in entirely different domains—ranging from seafloor mapping to land surface monitoring and beyond. NASA’s Ice, Clouds, and land Elevation Satellite–2 (ICESat-2) mission continues to provide critical data on Earth’s changing ice sheets, glaciers, and other environmental features. In March 2025, the satellite achieved a significant milestone by firing its two trillionth laser pulse, measuring clouds off the coast of East Antarctica. Despite challenges, such as a solar storm in May 2024 that temporarily disrupted operations, the mission has resumed full functionality, providing high-resolution data that has enabled scientists to map over 16 years of ice sheet changes. The mission’s advanced laser altimeter system, ATLAS, continues to deliver unprecedented detail in monitoring Earth’s changing ice sheets, glaciers, forests, and ocean floor.
The ICESat-2 Satellite-Derived Bathymetry (SDB) workshop, held on March 17, 2025, in conjunction with the US-Hydro meeting, brought together experts and stakeholders from government, academia, and industry to explore the current capabilities and future potential of satellite-based seafloor mapping. With over 2000 journal articles referencing ICESat-2 in the context of bathymetry, the workshop underscored the growing importance of this technology in coastal management, navigation, habitat monitoring, and disaster response. For more details, see the ICESat-2 Applications Team Hosts Satellite Bathymetry Workshop report.
As satellite technologies continue to evolve, so do the scientific communities that rely on them, bringing researchers together to share insights, refine data products, and explore new applications across a range of Earth and atmospheric science disciplines. As of early 2025, NASA’s Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III (SAGE III) aboard the International Space Station (ISS) continues to provide critical insights into Earth’s atmospheric composition. In addition to scientific advancements, SAGE III/ISS has enhanced public accessibility to its data. In February 2025, the mission launched updates to its Quicklook and Expedited data portal, introducing a new ‘Highlights’ tab to showcase major stratospheric events and a ‘Comparisons’ tab for validating measurements with ground-based stations. These enhancements aim to make SAGE III/ISS data more accessible and increase its utilization for atmospheric research.
The most recent SAGE III/ISS Science Team Meeting took place in October 2024 at NASA Langley Research Center and was held in hybrid format. Around 50 scientists gathered to discuss recent advancements, mission updates, and future directions in upper troposphere–stratosphere (UTS) research. The SAGE III/ISS team celebrated eight years of continuous data collection aboard the ISS and presented Version 6.0 of SAGE III/ISS data products during the meeting, which addresses previous data biases and enhances aerosol profile recovery. Presentations also covered aerosol and cloud studies, lunar-based aerosol retrievals, and collaborative projects using data from multiple satellite platforms and instruments. To learn more, see the full Summary of the 2024 SAGE III/ISS Meeting.
Moving on to personnel announcements, I wish to extend my condolences to the friends and family of Dr. Stanley Sander, who passed away in March 2025. Sander devoted over 50 years to atmospheric science at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, making groundbreaking contributions to stratospheric ozone research, air pollution, and climate science. His precise laboratory work on reaction kinetics and spectroscopy became foundational for atmospheric modeling and environmental policy, including the Montreal Protocol. Sander also played a key role in satellite calibration, mentored dozens of young scientists, and held several leadership positions at JPL. Remembered for his brilliance, humility, and kindness, his legacy endures through both his scientific achievements and the many lives he influenced. See In Memoriam: Dr. Stanley Sander.
On a happier, though bittersweet, note, my congratulations to Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] who retired from NASA on April 30, 2025, after 42 years of distinguished service. With a background in chemistry and atmospheric science, he played a leading role in NASA’s efforts to understand Earth’s atmosphere and climate using satellite data and modeling. Throughout his career, Kaye has held various key leadership positions, managed major missions, e.g., the series of Shuttle-based Atmospheric Laboratory of Applications and Science (ATLAS) experiments, and supported the development of early-career scientists. He also represented NASA in national and international science collaborations and advisory roles. Kaye received numerous awards, published extensively, and was widely recognized for his contributions to Earth science and global climate research. I extend my sincere thanks to Jack for his many years of vital leadership and lasting contributions to the global Earth science community!
Barry Lefer [NASA HQ—Tropospheric Composition Program Manager] has taken over as Acting Associate Director for Research in ESD. Reflecting on Kaye’s impact, Lefer said, “Jack has been a wonderful friend and mentor. The one thing about Jack that has had the biggest impact on me (besides his incredible memory) is his kindness. He has an enormous heart. He will be missed, but his impact on Earth Science will endure for a very long time!” See the full announcement, Jack Kaye Retires After a Storied Career at NASA.
Steve Platnick
EOS Senior Project Scientist
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Last Updated Jun 11, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
Explore This Section Earth Earth Observer Editor’s Corner Feature Articles Meeting Summaries News Science in the News Calendars In Memoriam Announcements More Archives Conference Schedules Style Guide 9 min read
NASA’s TROPICS Mission: Offering Detailed Images and Analysis of Tropical Cyclones
Introduction
Tropical cyclones represent a danger to life, property, and the economies of communities. Researchers who study tropical cyclones have focused on remote observations using space-based platforms to image these storms, inform forecasts, better predict landfall, and improve understanding of storm dynamics and precipitation evolution – see Figure 1.
Figure 1. TROPICS imagery of Typhoon Kong-rey observed on October 29, 2024 near 205 GHz revealing a large and well-defined eye. Figure credit: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory The tropical cyclone community has leveraged data from Earth observing platforms for more than 30 years. These data have been retrieved from numerous instruments including: the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)–Series R satellites; the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Microwave Imager (TMI); the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Microwave Imager (GMI); the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder (SSMIS) on the Defense Meteorological Satellite (DSMP) satellites; the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR-E) on Aqua; AMSR2 on the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Global Change Observation Mission–Water (GCOM-W) mission; the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) on Aqua and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) on the NASA–NOAA Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP), NOAA-20, and NOAA-21; the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra and Aqua Platform; and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on Suomi NPP, as well as on the first two Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) missions (i.e., NOAA-20 and NOAA-21).
Despite having decades of data at their disposal, scientists lack data from instruments placed in low-inclination orbits that provide more frequent views within tropical regions. This limitation is especially pronounced in the tropical and subtropical latitudes, which is where tropical storms develop and intensify.
The NASA Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) grew from the Precipitation and All-weather Temperature and Humidity (PATH) to address a need for obtaining three-dimensional (3D) temperature and humidity measurements as well as precipitation with a temporal revisit rate of one hour or better – see Figure 2. TROPICS uses multiple small satellites flying in a carefully engineered formation to obtain rapid revisits of measurements of precipitation structure within the storms, as well as temperature and humidity profiles, both within and outside of the storms, including the intensity of the upper-level warm core. In addition, the instruments provide a median revisit time of about one hour. The data gathered also informs changes in storm track and intensity and provides data to improve weather prediction models.
The imagery is focused on inner storm structure (near 91 and 205 GHz), temperature soundings (near 118 GHz), and moisture soundings (near 183 GHz). Spatial resolution at nadir is approximately 24 km (16.8 mi) for temperature and 17 km (10.6 mi) for moisture and precipitation, covering a swath of approximately 2000 km (1243 mi) in width. Researchers can use TROPICS data to create hundreds of high-resolution images of tropical cyclones throughout their lifecycle.
Figure 2. TROPICS space vehicle showing the CubeSat bus, radiometer payload, and deployed articulated solar array. Figure credit: Blue Canyon Technologies and MIT Lincoln Laboratory This article provides an overview of the two years of successful science operations of TROPICS, with a focus on the suite of geophysical Level-2 (L2) products (e.g., atmospheric vertical temperature and moisture profiles, instantaneous surface rain rate, and tropical cyclone intensity) and the science investigations resulting from these measurements. The complete article, available in the Proceedings Of The IEEE: Special Issue On Satellite Remote Sensing Of The Earth, provides more comprehensive details of the results.
From Pathfinder to Constellation
A single TROPICS satellite was launched as a Pathfinder vehicle on June 30, 2021, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare into a Sun-synchronous polar orbit. TROPICS was originally conceived as a six-satellite constellation, with two satellites launched into each of three low-inclination orbits. Regrettably, the first launch, on June 22, 2022 aboard an Astra Rocket 3.3, failed to reach orbit. While unfortunate, the mission could still proceed with four satellites and meet its baseline revisit rate requirement (with no margin), with the silver lining of an extra year of data gathered from TROPICS Pathfinder that allowed the tropical cyclone research community to prepare and test communications systems and data processing algorithms before the launch of the four remaining constellation satellites. These satellites were deployed on two separate launches – May 8, 2023 and May 26, 2023 aboard a Rocket Lab launch vehicle. The early testing accelerated calibration and validation for the constellation.
Collecting Data Critical to Understanding Tropical Cyclones
Tropical cyclone investigations require rapid quantitative observations to create 2D storm structure information. The four radiance data products in the TROPICS constellation [i.e., antenna temperature (L1a), brightness temperature (L1b), unified brightness temperature, and regularized scan pattern and limb-adjusted brightness temperature (L1c)] penetrate below the cloud top to gather data at greater frequency for a lower cost than current operational systems. The constellation data has been used to evaluate the development of the warm core and evolution of the ice water path within storms – two indicators of storm formation and subsequent changes in intensity.
The upper-level warm core is key to tropical cyclone development and intensification. Precipitation may instigate rapid intensification through convective bursts that are characterized by expanding cold cloud tops, increasing ice scattering, lightning, and towers of intense rain and ice water that are indicative of strong updrafts. TROPICS frequencies provide a wealth of information on scattering by precipitation-sized ice particles in the eyewall and rainbands that will allow for researchers to track the macrostructure of convective bursts in tropical cyclones across the globe. In addition, TROPICS data helps clarify how variations in environmental humidity around tropical cyclones affect storm structure and intensification.
Upper-level Warm Core
Analysis of the upper-level warm core of a tropical cyclone reveals valuable information about the storm’s development. The tropical cyclone community is using data from TROPICS to understand the processes that lead to precipitating ice structure and the role it plays in intensification – see Figure 3. While the warm core has been studied for decades, TROPICS provides a new opportunity to get high-revisit rate estimates of the atmospheric vertical temperature profile. By pairing the temperature profile with the atmospheric vertical moisture profile, researchers can define the relative humidity in the lower-to-middle troposphere, which is critical to understanding the impact of dry environmental air on storm evolution and structure.
Figure 3. TROPICS-3 imagery of Typhoon Kong-rey observed on October 29, 2024, a Category-5 storm that formed in the Pacific Ocean basin. Data gathered near 118 GHz was used to characterize temperature while data gathered near 205 GHz [right] revealed more about the inner structure of the storm. These data are used to define the warm core of the well-defined eye, located at 18.5° N. Figure Credit: U.S. Naval Research Laboratory Ice Water Path and Precipitation
Another variable that helps to provide insight into the development of tropical cyclones is the ice water path, which details the total mass of ice present in a vertical column of the atmosphere and is therefore useful for characterizing the structure and intensity of these storms. Increasing ice water path can reflect strengthening convection within a storm and thereby be an indicator of likely intensification – see Figure 4. TROPICS is the first spaceborne sensor equipped with a 205-GHz channel that, along with the traditional 89, 118, and 183 GHz channels, is more sensitive to detecting precipitation-sized ice particles. In addition, the TROPICS Precipitation Retrieval and Profiling Scheme (PRPS) provides an estimate of precipitation. This scheme is based solely on the satellite radiances linked to precipitation rates, which can be used to generate products across time scales, from near-real-time to climatological scales.
Figure 4. Global precipitation ice water path (PIWP) retrievals derived from TROPICS [top] compared to those derived using data from the GPM Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (GPM DPR) [bottom] The strong agreement between the two datasets is further validated through case studies over hurricanes, where TROPICS observations correspond well with known storm characteristics. Figure Credit: Blackwell, W. J. et al. (2025) Collaborations and TROPICS Data in Action
To evaluate and enhance the data gathered by TROPICS, the TROPICS application team enlisted the assistance of operational weather forecasters that formed the TROPICS Early Adopters program. In 2018, the program connected the application team to stakeholders interested in using TROPICS data for research, forecasting, and decision making. This collaboration improved approaches to diagnose and predict tropical cyclones. For example, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) found that the new TROPICS channel at 204.8 GHz offered the best approach to capture convective storm structure, followed by the more traditionally used 91-GHz channel. In addition, the U.S. Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) has been using TROPICS data to center-fix tropical cyclones and identify cloud formations. In particular, the JTWC team found that the 91-GHz channel was most useful for identifying cloud structure. Both NHC and JTWC found the TROPICS high revisit rate to be beneficial.
In 2024, the TROPICS applications team developed the TROPICS Satellite Validation Module as part of the NOAA Hurricane Research Division’s annual Advancing the Prediction of Hurricanes Experiment (APHEX). The module coordinated data collection from NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter aircraft beneath TROPICS satellite overpasses to provide data to calibrate and validate TROPICS temperature, moisture, and precipitation measurements. Using this approach, the Hurricane Hunter team tracked Hurricane Ernesto over the central North Atlantic on August 15 and 16, 2024 and used the data to characterize the environment of Ernesto’s rain bands – see Figure 5.
Figure 5. Brightness temperature (K) measured at 205 GHz from TROPICS-5 [right] and TROPICS-6 [left and center] from Hurricane Ernesto on August 15 and 16, 2024. The shaded circles denote 850–700 hPa relative humidity (%). Wind barbs are 850–700 hPa layer averaged winds (kt). Dropsonde data within 30 minutes of the TROPICS overpass times are plotted. Figure Credit: Blackwell, W. J. et al. (2025) In addition, the team used TROPICS observations in combination with GPM constellation precipitation estimates to characterize the lifecycle of Hurricane Franklin, which formed on August 19, 2023 and underwent a period of rapid intensification about eight days later. Intensification of the storm, in particular the period of rapid intensification (45 knot increase in maximum winds in 24 hours), occurred in association with a decrease in environmental vertical wind shear, a contraction of the radius of maximum precipitation, and an increase in the precipitation rate. Intensification ended with the formation of secondary rainbands and an outward shift in the radius of maximum precipitation.
Conclusion
TROPICS data offer the potential for improving forecasts from numerical weather prediction models and operational forecasts using its high spatial resolution and high revisit rates that enable enhanced characterization of tropical cyclones globally. To date, the TROPICS mission has produced a high-quality aggregate data record spanning 10 billion observations and 10 satellite years, using relatively low-cost microwave sounder constellations. All L1 (i.e., radiances) and L2 (i.e., geophysical products) data products and Algorithm Theoretical Basis Documents are available to the general public through the Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). The GES DISC data discussed in this article include L1 and L2 products for TROPICS-1, TROPICS-3, TROPICS-5, and TROPICS-6.
TROPICS data has aided hurricane track forecasting for multiple storms as forecasters have used the data at multiple operational tropical cyclone forecast centers. Data gathered by TROPICS will soon be complemented by multiple commercial constellations that are coming online to improve the revisit rate and performance.
William Blackwell
MIT Lincoln Laboratory
wjb@ll.mit.edu
Scott Braun
NASA GSFC, TROPICS Project Scientist
scott.a.braun@nasa.gov
Stacy Kish
Earth Observer Staff
Earthspin.science@gmail.com
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Last Updated Jun 09, 2025 Related Terms
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A lot can change in a year for Earth’s forests and vegetation, as springtime and rainy seasons can bring new growth, while cooling temperatures and dry weather can bring a dieback of those green colors. And now, a novel type of NASA visualization illustrates those changes in a full complement of colors as seen from space.
Researchers have now gathered a complete year of PACE data to tell a story about the health of land vegetation by detecting slight variations in leaf colors. Previous missions allowed scientists to observe broad changes in chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their green color and also allows them to perform photosynthesis. But PACE now allows scientists to see three different pigments in vegetation: chlorophyll, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. The combination of these three pigments helps scientists pinpoint even more information about plant health. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite is designed to view Earth’s microscopic ocean plants in a new lens, but researchers have proved its hyperspectral use over land, as well.
Previous missions measured broad changes in chlorophyll, the pigment that gives plants their green color and also allows them to perform photosynthesis. Now, for the first time, PACE measurements have allowed NASA scientists and visualizers to show a complete year of global vegetation data using three pigments: chlorophyll, anthocyanins, and carotenoids. That multicolor imagery tells a clearer story about the health of land vegetation by detecting the smallest of variations in leaf colors.
“Earth is amazing. It’s humbling, being able to see life pulsing in colors across the whole globe,” said Morgaine McKibben, PACE applications lead at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “It’s like the overview effect that astronauts describe when they look down at Earth, except we are looking through our technology and data.”
Anthocyanins, carotenoids, and chlorophyll data light up North America, highlighting vegetation and its health.Credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio Anthocyanins are the red pigments in leaves, while carotenoids are the yellow pigments – both of which we see when autumn changes the colors of trees. Plants use these pigments to protect themselves from fluctuations in the weather, adapting to the environment through chemical changes in their leaves. For example, leaves can turn more yellow when they have too much sunlight but not enough of the other necessities, like water and nutrients. If they didn’t adjust their color, it would damage the mechanisms they have to perform photosynthesis.
In the visualization, the data is highlighted in bright colors: magenta represents anthocyanins, green represents chlorophyll, and cyan represents carotenoids. The brighter the colors are, the more leaves there are in that area. The movement of these colors across the land areas show the seasonal changes over time.
In areas like the evergreen forests of the Pacific Northwest, plants undergo less seasonal change. The data highlights this, showing comparatively steadier colors as the year progresses.
The combination of these three pigments helps scientists pinpoint even more information about plant health.
“Shifts in these pigments, as detected by PACE, give novel information that may better describe vegetation growth, or when vegetation changes from flourishing to stressed,” said McKibben. “It’s just one of many ways the mission will drive increased understanding of our home planet and enable innovative, practical solutions that serve society.”
The Ocean Color Instrument on PACE collects hyperspectral data, which means it observes the planet in 100 different wavelengths of visible and near infrared light. It is the only instrument – in space or elsewhere – that provides hyperspectral coverage around the globe every one to two days. The PACE mission builds on the legacy of earlier missions, such as Landsat, which gathers higher resolution data but observes a fraction of those wavelengths.
In a paper recently published in Remote Sensing Letters, scientists introduced the mission’s first terrestrial data products.
“This PACE data provides a new view of Earth that will improve our understanding of ecosystem dynamics and function,” said Fred Huemmrich, research professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, member of the PACE science and applications team, and first author of the paper. “With the PACE data, it’s like we’re looking at a whole new world of color. It allows us to describe pigment characteristics at the leaf level that we weren’t able to do before.”
As scientists continue to work with these new data, available on the PACE website, they’ll be able to incorporate it into future science applications, which may include forest monitoring or early detection of drought effects.
By Erica McNamee
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Jun 05, 2025 EditorKate D. RamsayerContactKate D. Ramsayerkate.d.ramsayer@nasa.gov Related Terms
Earth Goddard Space Flight Center PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, Ocean Ecosystem) Explore More
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By NASA
Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] has decided to retire on April 30, 2025, following 42 years of service to NASA – see Photo 1. Most recently, Kaye served as associate director for research of the Earth Science Division (ESD) within NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD). In this position, he was responsible for the research and data analysis programs for Earth System Science that addressed the broad spectrum of scientific disciplines from the stratopause to the poles to the oceans.
Photo 1. Jack Kaye [NASA HQ—Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division (ESD)] retired from NASA on April 30, 2025, after a 42-year career. Photo credit: Public Domain A New York native, Kaye’s interest in space was piqued as a child watching early NASA manned space launches on television. He would often write to NASA to get pictures of the astronauts. In high school, he started an after school astronomy club. Despite a youthful interest in Earth science, as he explained in a 2014 “Maniac Talk” at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Kaye pursued a slightly different academic path. He obtained a Bachelor’s of Science in chemistry from Adelphi University in 1976 and a Ph.D. in theoretical physical chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in 1982. For his graduate studies, he focused on the quantum mechanics of chemical reactions with an aim toward being able to understand and calculate the activity.
Following graduate school, Kaye secured a post-doctoral position at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where he studied the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere with a focus on stratospheric ozone. It was while working in a group of meteorologists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center that Kaye returned to his roots and refocused his scientific energy on studying Earth.
“NASA had a mandate to study stratospheric ozone,” Kaye said in an interview in 2009. “I got involved in looking at satellite observations and especially trying to interpret satellite observations of stratospheric composition and building models to simulate things, to look both ways, to use the models and use the data.”
Kaye has held numerous science and leadership positions at NASA. He began his career at GSFC as a researcher for the Stratospheric General Circulation and Chemistry Modeling Project (SGCCP) from 1983–1990 working on stratospheric modeling. In this role, he also worked on an Earth Observing System Interdisciplinary proposal. His first role at NASA HQ was managing as program scientist for the Atmospheric Chemistry Modeling and Analysis Program (ACMAP), as well as numerous other missions. In this role, he was a project scientist for the Atmospheric Laboratory for Applications and Science (ATLAS) series of Shuttle missions. While managing ATLAS, Kaye oversaw the science carried out by a dozen instruments from several different countries. He also managed several other Earth Science missions during this time. See the link to Kaye’s “Maniac Talk.”
Kaye entered the Senior Executive Service in 1999, where he continued to contribute to the agency by managing NASA’s Earth Science Research Program. In addition, Kaye has held temporary acting positions as deputy director of ESD and deputy chief scientist for Earth Science within SMD. Throughout his career he has focused on helping early-career investigators secure their first awards to establish their career path—see Photo 2.
Photo 2. Throughout his career, Jack Kaye has been an advocate for young scientists, helping them get established in their careers. Here, Kaye speaks with the Climate Change Research Initiative cohort at the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in Washington, DC on August 7, 2024. The Earth Science Division’s Early Career Research Program’s Climate Change Research Initiative is a year-long STEM engagement and experiential learning opportunity for educators and students from high school to graduate level. Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky On numerous occasions, Kaye spoke to different groups emphasizing the agency’s unique role in both developing and utilizing cutting-edge technology, especially remote observations of Earth with different satellite platforms – see Photo 3. With the launch of five new NASA Earth science campaigns in 2020, Kaye stated, “These innovative investigations tackle difficult scientific questions that require detailed, targeted field observations combined with data collected by our fleet of Earth-observing satellites.”
Photo 3. Jack Kaye hands out eclipse posters and other outreach materials to attendees at Eclipse Fest 2024. Photo credit: GRC https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/earth-science/looking-back-on-looking-up-the-2024-total-solar-eclipse/ Kaye has also represented NASA in interagency and international activities and has been an active participant in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), where he has served for many years as NASA principal of the Subcommittee on Global Change Research. He served as NASA’s representative to the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology and chaired the World Meteorological Organization Expert Team on Satellite Systems. Kaye was named an honorary member of the Asia Oceania Geoscience Society in 2015. He previously completed a six-year term as a member of the Steering Committee for the Global Climate Observing System and currently serves an ex officio member of the National Research Council’s Roundtable on Science and Technology for Sustainability and the Chemical Sciences Roundtable, as well as a member of the Roundtable on Global Science Diplomacy.
NASA has honored Kaye with numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Medal in 2022 and the Meritorious Executive in the Senior Executive Service in 2004, 2010, and 2021. In 2024 he was awarded the NASA-USGS Pecora Individual Award honoring excellence in Earth Observation. He was named a Fellow by the American Meteorological Society in 2010 and by the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2014. Kaye was elected to serve as an office of the Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Science section of the AAAS (2015–2018). AGU has recognized him on two occasions with a Citation for Excellence in Refereeing.
Over the course of his career Kaye has published more than 50 papers, contributed to numerous reports, books, and encyclopedias, and edited the book Isotope Effects in Gas-Phase Chemistry for the American Chemical Society. In addition, he has attended the Leadership for Democratic Society program at the Federal Executive Institute and the Harvard Senior Managers in Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
“The vantage point of space provides a way to look at the Earth globally, with the ability to observe Earth’s interacting components of air, water, land and ice, and both naturally occurring and human-induced processes,” Kaye said in a November 2024 article published by Penn State University. “It lets us look at variability on a broad range of spatial and temporal scales and given the decades of accomplishments, has allowed us to characterize and document Earth system variability on time scales from minutes to decades.”
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