14 DAY TRIAL // The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft is scheduled to launch later this month. Already stowed aboard is another CERES instrument, built by the Northrop Grumman Corporation.
CERES, which stands for Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System, is a highly-successful series of scientific instruments that have flown aboard NASA Earth observation satellites since 1997.
Experts are convinced that NPP's capabilities are considerably augmented by the addition of this sensitive class of scientific tools. Northrop announced recently that CERES has been integrated with the NPP satellite bus, in anticipation of an October 27 launch date.
What this instrument does is it measures the amount of sunlight that bounces off Earth's atmosphere. At the same time, it also contributes to generating accurate measurements of how much heat the planet and its atmosphere radiate in outer space.
This is done through the use of broadband radiometers, devices that represent the backbone of the CERES Flight Model 5 as well. Using datasets collected by these instruments, researchers hope to be able to refine climate models seeking to explain how cloud covers influence the planetary climate.
Northrop engineers say that keeping an eye on our planet's radiation budget is very important for climate scientists. It's only through such studies that carbon dioxide can be highlighted as the primary cause of global warming on Earth today.
“CERES is broadly acknowledged as the most precisely calibrated optical radiometer ever to fly in space,” explains the director of sensor products at Northrop Aerospace Systems, Mark Folkman.
“In order to meet the stringent requirements of the climate community, Northrop Grumman has invested in a highly specialized facility for calibrating CERES instruments on the ground. These calibrations are regularly checked by on-board systems and have proven to be extremely stable,” he adds.
Thus far, CERES instruments have been outfitted on the NASA Terra and Aqua satellites, both of which have played a tremendously-important role in shaping the way we understand climate today. The satellites themselves are well past their prime, and out of warranty, yet still operate near perfection.
“We eagerly await the launch of CERES on NPP to preserve the continuity of this vital piece of the climate data record,” concludes the Northrop Aerospace Systems CERES program manager, Ravi Narasimhan.