does this have anything to do with all the com trails you talk about?? Hmm.
Jeanine

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Sent: Friday, December 10, 1999 8:19 PM
Subject: New Millennium program selects Earth-observing concept

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>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 10, 1999
>
> NEW MILLENNIUM PROGRAM SELECTS ADVANCED EARTH-OBSERVING CONCEPT
>
> NASA will flight-test an instrument using new technologies
> to measure elements of Earth's atmosphere and to support space
> research aimed at reducing risks from severe weather. This
> measurement concept, known as the Geostationary Imaging Fourier
> Transform Spectrometer, has been selected as the next Earth-
> observing mission under NASA's New Millennium Program.
>
> The mission -- known as Earth Observing 3 -- will test
> advanced technologies for measuring temperature, water vapor,
> wind and chemical composition with high resolution, in space and
> over time. Such sophisticated measurements have the potential
> for revolutionary improvements in weather observation and
> prediction, by providing unique observations of the spectral
> properties of clouds and the transport of pollutants in the
> atmosphere.
>
> "In 2003, this space flight demonstration will involve
> genuinely revolutionary measurement approaches that will have a
> major impact on Earth system science," said Dr. Ghassem Asrar,
> associate administrator for Earth science, NASA Headquarters,
> Washington, DC. "The eventual incorporation of this technology
> on geostationary weather satellites would provide up-to-the-
> minute information, never before available, on active severe
> weather systems, such as hurricanes and tornados.
>
> "These observations will help improve the accuracy of the
> current three-day weather forecasts and extend the duration of
> forecasts up to five days during the next decade," Asrar said.
>
> Managed by NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, the
> mission uses an advanced imaging spectrometer based on
> breakthrough technologies such as a large-area focal-plane array,
> new data-readout and signal-processing electronics, and passive
> thermal switching. Today's geostationary satellites observe
> Earth, its atmosphere and oceans in only a few selected spectral
> bands. This new instrument will improve observational
> capabilities to several hundred spectral bands that will provide
> both additional and more detailed information.
>
> NASA selected this concept from four finalist ideas culled
> from 24 proposals submitted in response to a NASA research
> announcement released in September 1997. The theme for the
> solicitation was to test innovative approaches for observing
> Earth's surface and atmosphere from positions outside low-Earth
> orbits, with an emphasis on advanced measurement concepts and
> technologies.
>
> The selection process was carried out by NASA Headquarters,
> and included evaluations of each concept study by external peer
> reviewers. The total NASA cost of the mission, including
> contribution to launch, is expected to be approximately $105
> million.
>
> The first Earth-orbiting mission under the New Millennium
> Program, Earth Observing 1, is scheduled for launch in spring of
> 2000. Managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
> MD, that mission will demonstrate an advanced land-imager system
> and hyperspectral imaging technologies that may eventually
> replace the current measurement approach used by Landsat
> satellites. Further information on the Earth Observing 1 mission
> is available on the Internet at
> http://eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov/NUwww/miscPages/home.html .
>
> Created in 1994, the New Millennium Program is designed to
> identify, develop and flight-validate advanced technologies that
> can lower costs and enable critical performance of future science
> missions in the 21st century. The program is managed by NASA's
> Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA, for NASA's Office of
> Earth Science and Office of Space Science, Washington, DC. JPL
> is a division of the California Institute of Technology. Further
> information on the New Millennium program is available at
> http://nmp.jpl.nasa.gov .
>
> Information about NASA's Earth Science Enterprise, dedicated
> to understanding how human-induced and natural changes affect the
> Earth's total environmental system, is available at URL
> http://www.earth.nasa.gov .
>
> #####
>
> 12-10-99 JGW
> #99-101
>
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