J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241
j.d.harrington@nasa.gov
WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected an ocean
wind study proposal led by the University of Michigan from among 19 submitted
to the agency's Announcement of Opportunity for small spaceflight
investigations of the Earth system. The proposed mission will make accurate
measurements of ocean surface winds throughout the life cycle of tropical
storms and hurricanes, which could help lead to better weather forecasting.
The competitively-selected proposal, the
Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), is led by Principal
Investigator Dr. Chris Ruf of the University of Michigan, and includes
partnerships with the Southwest Research Institute of Texas, Surrey Satellite
Technology of Colorado and NASA Ames Research Center.
It is the second award, and first award
for space-based investigations, in the Earth Venture-class series of rapidly
developed, cost-constrained projects for NASA's Earth Science Division. The
award will be funded during the next five years for $151.7 million. The cost
includes initial development, launch, deployment and data analysis.
The mission will use a constellation of
small satellites that will be carried to orbit on a single launch vehicle. The
CYGNSS data will enable scientists, for the first time, to probe key air-sea
interaction processes that take place near the inner core of the storms, which
are rapidly changing and play large roles in the genesis and intensification of
hurricanes. The CYGNSS measurements also may provide information to the
hurricane forecast community.
Once in orbit, CYGNSS's eight
micro-satellite observatories will receive both direct and reflected signals
from Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites. The direct signals pinpoint
CYGNSS observatory positions, while the reflected signals respond to ocean
surface roughness, from which wind speed is retrieved.
"The CYGNSS mission is both a
scientific and a programmatic advance for NASA’s Earth science and applications
program," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's Science Mission Directorate
associate administrator in Washington. "CYGNSS will provide vital science
data on tropical cyclones, and the CYGNSS team will advance our ability to
obtain high-quality Earth science data through smaller, more affordable space
systems."
The Earth Venture missions are part of
NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder program. The small, targeted science
investigations complement NASA's larger research missions. In 2007, the
National Research Council recommended NASA undertake these types of regularly
solicited, quick-turnaround projects. The previous Earth Venture award was for
five airborne investigations all of which are progressing well with initial
data being collected. The first Announcement of Opportunity in the Earth
Venture-Instruments series was issued earlier this year, and proposals are now
under review.
The Earth Venture program is expected to
continue with awards at regular intervals for investigations using cutting edge
instrumentation carried on airborne platforms, on small space missions, or as
secondary instruments or hosted payloads on larger platforms. NASA's Langley
Research Center, Hampton, Va., manages the Earth System Science Pathfinder
program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. The missions in this program
provide an innovative approach to address Earth science research with periodic
windows of opportunity to accommodate new scientific priorities.
For more information about the Earth
System Science Pathfinder program, visit http://go.nasa.gov/MKvgJO.
For information about NASA and agency
programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/.
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