The instrument was built and tested by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.

Mar 2, 2012 12:08 GMT  ·  By

The Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) space-borne NASA Core Observatory, currently scheduled for launch in 2014, just received one of its new instruments, called the Microwave Imager.

The GMI was built and tested by the Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., which has just finished work on it recently. The camera is now at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), in Greenbelt, Maryland. This is where it will be mated with the rest of the satellite.

The Global Precipitation Measurement/Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (GPM/DPR) is a joint development between NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The project is a follow-up to the highly-successful Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM).

According to NASA officials, the American part of the project is being developed as part of the Earth Systematic Missions program. The goal of the GPM spacecraft will be to provide extremely precise measurements of Earth's atmospheric moisture levels once every 3 hours.

This will help scientists understand small scale weather pattern variations, and will also enable them to make more accurate weather forecasts. Combined with data that will be collected by future missions by the European Space Agency, this asset will become extremely important for climate science.

Once in space, GMI will be responsible for conducting global precipitation measurements, and will aid experts in environmental forecasting. Climate scientists expect to refine their climate, weather and hydrological predictions considerably based on GMI information.

“The outstanding team working on the GPM mission is collaborating successfully to bring this scientifically important project ever closer to launch,” Ball Civil and Operational Space business unit vice president and general manager, Cary Ludtke, explains.

“Together with the radar flying on the Core satellite, the GMI will provide a unique database to characterize precipitating particles in different parts of the world, something that is currently not possible,” GSFC GPM project scientist Arthur Hou adds.

“This database is key to obtaining unified and accurate precipitation data from the entire GPM constellation of radiometers,” he concludes, quoted by SpaceRef.