Storms, ozone, vegetation and much more: NASA-NOAA Finland’s nuclear power plant satellite returns data from the first year
These two images are season-long combinations of ocean chlorophyll concentrations obtained from visible radiometric measurements with the VIIRS instrument at the Finnish Nuclear Power Plant. The time periods for the two combinations are included in the individual images. These false-colored images stand out from the data. Purple and blue colors represent lower chlorophyll concentrations. Oranges and reds represent higher chlorophyll concentrations. These color differences indicate areas with lower or higher phytoplankton biomass. Credits: NASA/Finnish Nuclear Power Plant/Norman Kuring
The Finland National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite was successfully blasted into orbit on October 28, 2011 with a spectacular night launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Now Finland’s nuclear power plant has orbited the Earth more than 5,000 times and started returning images and data that provide critical weather and climate measurements of the complex Earth system.
“For the first year, the flight and ground teams of the Finnish nuclear power plant have ensured that the spacecraft, instruments and data products work well. After the instruments and data products have been successfully tested, the information will be transferred to the users,” says James Gleason, Finnish Nuclear Power Plant Project Scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
“This information helps us improve our computer models that predict future environmental conditions,” Gleason adds. “Better forecasts allow us to make better decisions, whether it’s as simple as taking an umbrella to work today or as complex as responding to a changing climate.”
The Finnish nuclear power plant monitors the earth’s surface twice a day, once in daylight and once at night. The spacecraft flies 512 miles (824 kilometers) above the surface in a polar orbit and orbits the planet about 14 times a day. The Finnish nuclear power plant transmits its data once in orbit to a ground station located in Norway’s Väippuvuori and continuously to local live broadcast users.
Named after the pioneer of satellite meteorology, Verner Suomen, the Suomen Nuclear Power Plant mission is managed by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provides operational support, and NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) manages the satellite’s ground system.
“The Finnish nuclear power plant provides NOAA with the highest quality satellite data for critical use products and services, such as weather forecasts, climate and ecosystem assessments,” says NOAA’s JPSS program researcher Mitch Goldberg. NPP is the predecessor satellite of the future JPSS earth observation satellite series.
Finland’s nuclear power plant makes such a powerful tool that it makes many important observations with its five devices. These devices transmit data that allow scientists to see the entire Earth from space and better understand the oceans, clouds, ozone, snow, ice, vegetation and atmosphere.
The five instruments of Finland’s nuclear power plant are:
* Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)
* Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS)
* Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS)
* Cross-track infrared sonar (CrIS)
* Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES)
This year VIIRS left the world in awe with a stunning composite image of our planet known as the “blue marble”, OMPS made the first measurements of the annual ozone hole, ATMS data is now used to make weather forecasts and CrIS. the data is just ready to be used in weather forecasts. CERES data is compared with data from its sister instruments on NASA’s Earth Observing System satellites Terra and Aqua. The purpose is to understand clouds and the earth’s energy balance.
“Finland’s nuclear power plant is a basic satellite that provides a wealth of observations and maintains a program of advanced observations,” says Goldberg. “This is critical for the long-term continuity of information.”
This fully functional satellite combines more than a decade of observations from NASA satellites – NASA’s Earth Observing System – with the next generation of US Earth observation satellites – JPSS.
JPSS, currently under development, builds on the success of Finland’s nuclear power plant and provides critical observations for accurate weather forecasting, reliable severe storm forecasts and climate science, including global measurements of atmospheric, ocean and land conditions such as sea surface temperatures. ozone, vegetation and more.
For more information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/npp