TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission)
A joint NASDA (Japan's National Space Development
Agency) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
mission dedicated to measuring tropical and subtropical rainfall, an important
but poorly understood factor affecting global climate. TRMM, one of the
first spacecraft in NASA's EOS (Earth Observing
System), returns long-term data on rainfall and energy budget measurements
which will be used to better understand global climate changes and their
mechanisms. The large spatial and temporal variations in tropical rain make
it difficult to measure from Earth's surface, and TRMM provides measurement
accuracies possible only from an orbiting platform. The satellite and four
instruments are provided by the United States, while Japan has supplied
one instrument and launch services. The scientific payload includes: Clouds
and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), a passive broadband scanning
radiometer with 3 spectral bands (visible through infared) that measures
Earth's radiation budget and atmospheric radiation from the top of the atmosphere
to the planet's surface; Lightning Imaging Sensor (LIS), an optical telescope
and filter imaging system that investigates the distribution and variability
of both intracloud and cloud-to-ground lightning; Precipitation Radar (PR),
the first spaceborne rain radar; TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI), a microwave
radiometer that provides data related to rainfall rates over the oceans;
and Visible Infrared Scanner (VIRS), a passive cross-track scanning radiometer
that measures scene radiance in five spectral bands (visible through infrared).
| launch date |
Nov. 27, 1997 |
| launch vehicle |
H-2 |
| launch site |
Tanegashima |
| orbit |
344 × 347 km × 35.0° |
Related categories
• JAPANESE
SPACECRAFT
• SATELLITES
AND SPACE PROBES
• JAPAN
IN SPACE
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