NASA Advances Climate Research with New Earth System Explorers Program Proposals

NASA Advances Climate Research with New Earth System Explorers Program Proposals
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) May 08, 2024

NASA has selected four new proposals for concept studies as part of its Earth System Explorers Program, aimed at enhancing our understanding of key Earth science areas such as greenhouse gases, the ozone layer, ocean currents, and global ice changes.

These investigations align with recommendations from the 2017 Decadal Survey by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, which advocates for principal investigator-led space science missions to investigate previously identified key Earth science targets. This initiative underscores NASA's commitment to prioritizing studies on greenhouse gases among other critical observables.

Nicky Fox, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, highlighted the program's comprehensive approach: "As we continue to confront our changing climate, and its impacts on humans and our environment, the need for data and scientific research could not be greater. These proposals will help us better prepare for the challenges we face today, and tomorrow."

Each selected proposal will receive $5 million to conduct a year-long mission concept study. Following this phase, NASA will select two proposals for development, with launches planned for 2030 and 2032. Each mission has a budget cap of $310 million, exclusive of launch costs, which NASA will cover.

NASA's long history of over 60 years in Earth observation has laid the foundation for these missions, which will join a fleet of over two dozen Earth-observing satellites and instruments currently in orbit, providing vital data on Earth's oceans, land, ice, and atmosphere.

The four proposals selected are:

1. The Stratosphere Troposphere Response using Infrared Vertically-Resolved Light Explorer (STRIVE), led by Lyatt Jaegle at the University of Washington, Seattle, aims to provide high-resolution atmospheric measurements including temperature, atmospheric elements, and aerosol properties from the upper troposphere to the mesosphere.

2. The Ocean Dynamics and Surface Exchange with the Atmosphere (ODYSEA), spearheaded by Sarah Gille at the University of California, San Diego, will measure ocean surface currents and winds to enhance our understanding of air-sea interactions and their impact on climate and ecosystems.

3. The Earth Dynamics Geodetic Explorer (EDGE), led by Helen Amanda Fricker at the University of California, San Diego, will monitor changes in terrestrial ecosystems and the topography of glaciers and ice sheets.

4. The Carbon Investigation (Carbon-I), directed by Christian Frankenberg at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, will focus on multi-species measurements of critical greenhouse gases and ethane to better understand the carbon cycle and global methane budget.