A newer version of this visualization is available.
NASA Earth Observing Fleet including Landsat 8
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- Visualizations by:
- Greg Shirah
- View full credits
A newer version of this visualization can be found here.
This animation shows the orbits of NASA's current (as of May 2013) fleet of Earth remote sensing observatories. The satellites include components of the A-Train (Aqua, Aura, CloudSat, CALIPSO), two satellites launched in 2011 (Aquarius, Suomi NPP), and nine others (ACRIMSAT, SORCE, GRACE, Jason 1 and 2, Landsat 7, Landsat 8, QuikSCAT, TRMM, and EO-1). These satellites measure tropical rainfall, solar irradiance, clouds, sea surface height, ocean salinity, and other aspects of the global environment. Together, they provide a picture of the Earth as a system.
This is an update of visualization #3725. It was created for display on the NASA Center for Climate Simulation (NCCS) hyperwall, a 5 x 3 array of high-definition displays with a total pixel resolution of 6840 x 2304. The orbits are based on orbital elements with epochs in April of 2013. The visualization spans twenty-nine hours, from 04:10 UT on April 14, 2013 to 09:24 UT on Aril 15, 2013.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio
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Animators
- Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC) [Lead]
- Alex Kekesi (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
- Ernie Wright (USRA)
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Producer
- Matthew Radcliff (KBR Wyle Services, LLC)
Missions
This visualization is related to the following missions:Datasets used in this visualization
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GEOS-5 Cubed-Sphere (GEOS-5 Atmospheric Model on the Cubed-Sphere)
ID: 663The model is the GEOS-5 atmospheric model on the cubed-sphere, run at 14-km global resolution for 30-days. GEOS-5 is described here http://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/systems/geos5/ and the cubed-sphere work is described here http://sivo.gsfc.nasa.gov/cubedsphere_overview.html.
See all pages that use this dataset -
Terra and Aqua BMNG (Blue Marble: Next Generation)
ID: 508Credit: The Blue Marble data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC).
This dataset can be found at: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/BlueMarble/
See all pages that use this dataset -
CelesTrak Spacecraft Orbit Ephemeris
ID: 454This dataset can be found at: http://celestrak.com
See all pages that use this dataset
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details, nor the data sets themselves on our site.
Related Pages
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ID: 11369 Produced Video
Around The World
Read moreThere’s a dance occurring hundreds of miles above Earth right now. It’s the result of choreographed movements made by NASA’s fleet of Earth-observing satellites. A total of 16 satellites keep tabs on the pulse of the planet, collecting data on everything from rainfall and clouds to sea surface height and ocean salinity. Four of these satellites travel as a group, each spaced just minutes apart along a route that loops around the poles. The rest fly solo or in tandem, crossing over most of the planet as often as twice every 24 hours. Collectively, their orbits allow for simultaneous observations of Earth’s environment from multiple perspectives. Watch the video to see NASA’s Earth-observing fleet in motion. ||
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ID: 5061 Visualization
Earth Observing Fleet (January 2023)
Read moreEarth observing fleet for January 2023 || fleet_2023_jan.00001_print.jpg (1024x576) [100.1 KB] || fleet_2023_jan.00001_searchweb.png (320x180) [57.8 KB] || fleet_2023_jan.00001_thm.png (80x40) [3.9 KB] || fleet_2023_jan_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [57.2 MB] || fleet_2023_jan_1080p60.webm (1920x1080) [12.0 MB] || frames/3840x2160_16x9_60p/fleet_2023_jan_4k/ (3840x2160) [512.0 KB] || frames/9600x3240_16x9_30p/fleet_2023_jan_hyperwall/ (9600x3240) [512.0 KB] || fleet_2023_jan_2160p60.mp4 (3840x2160) [169.3 MB] || fleet_2023_jan_2160p30.mp4 (3840x2160) [153.4 MB] || fleet_2023_jan_2160p60.webm (3840x2160) [39.2 MB] ||
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ID: 4928 Visualization
Earth Observing Fleet (December 2021)
Read moreEarth observing fleet for December 2021 - this version includes Landsat-9 in nominal orbit and excludes Landsat-7 || fleet_2021_dec_15_HD_002.01000_print.jpg (1024x576) [75.6 KB] || fleet_2021_dec_15_HD_002.01000_searchweb.png (320x180) [40.3 KB] || fleet_2021_dec_15_HD_002.01000_thm.png (80x40) [3.8 KB] || fleet_2021_dec_15_HD_002_1080p59.94.mp4 (1920x1080) [50.2 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/ (1920x1080) [512.0 KB] || fleet_2021_dec_15_HD_002_1080p59.94.webm (1920x1080) [20.8 MB] || fleet_2021_dec_15_4k_002_2160p59.94.mp4 (3840x2160) [92.5 MB] || frames/9600x3240_16x9_30p/png/ (9600x3240) [256.0 KB] || frames/9600x3240_16x9_30p/exr/ (9600x3240) [256.0 KB] || frames/3840x2160_16x9_30p/ (3840x2160) [512.0 KB] || frames/9600x3240_16x9_30p/exr_better_labels/ (9600x3240) [512.0 KB] || frames/9600x3240_16x9_30p/png_better_labels/ (9600x3240) [512.0 KB] ||
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ID: 4931 Visualization
Earth Observing Fleet (August 2021)
Read moreEarth observing fleet for August 2021 - this version labels the "Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich" spacecraft: Sentinel-6 || fleet_2021_AUG_sentinel6.6600_print.jpg (1024x576) [84.5 KB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_30p/sentinel6/ (1920x1080) [256.0 KB] || fleet_2021_AUG_sentinel6_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [39.5 MB] || fleet_2021_AUG_sentinel6_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [14.2 MB] ||
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ID: 4558 Visualization
NASA's Earth Observing Fleet: March 2017
Read moreNASA's Earth observing fleet as of March 2017 || final_earth_obs_fleet06.2100_print.jpg (1024x576) [96.1 KB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06.2100_searchweb.png (320x180) [62.3 KB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06.2100_thm.png (80x40) [4.5 KB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06_1080p60.mp4 (1920x1080) [46.9 MB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06_1080p60.webm (1920x1080) [11.2 MB] || frames/1920x1080_16x9_60p/final/ (1920x1080) [512.0 KB] || final_earth_obs_fleet06_360p30.mp4 (640x360) [6.0 MB] || frames/9600x3240_3x1_30p/final06/ (9600x3240) [512.0 KB] ||
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