NASA’s Aura spacecraft, the latest in the Earth
Observing System (EOS) series, arrived at Vandenberg Air
Force Base, Calif., to begin launch preparations.
Packed in a special shipping container, Aura was transported
from Northrop Grumman’s Space Park manufacturing facility in
Redondo Beach, Calif. The spacecraft will undergo final
tests and integration with a Delta II rocket for launch in
June.
Aura’s four state-of-the-art instruments will study the
atmosphere’s chemistry and dynamics. The spacecraft will
provide data to help scientists better understand the
Earth’s ozone, air quality and climate change.
“The entire Aura team is very excited to see all our efforts
come to fruition and is looking forward to a successful
launch,” said Rick Pickering, Aura Project Manager at NASA’s
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.
Aura fulfills part of NASA’s commitment to study the Earth
as a global system and represents a key agency contribution
to the U.S. Global Change Research Program. This mission
will continue the global data collection underway by NASA’s
other EOS satellites, Terra, which monitors land, and Aqua,
which observes Earth’s water cycle.
The Aura spacecraft is part of NASA’s Earth Science
Enterprise, a long-term research effort to determine how
human-induced and natural changes affect global environment.
For more information about Aura on the Internet, visit:
http://aura.gsfc.nasa.gov
