Libera
Libera will
record how much energy leaves our planet's atmosphere on a day-by-day basis
maintaining a decades-long data record of observations.
NASA’s Libera instrument, which is
designed to maintain the global data record of Earth’s radiation budget, has
successfully completed comprehensive environmental testing. This critical
milestone included thermal vacuum tests that simulate the expected space
temperature and environments that Libera will experience during its mission.
The Libera instrument will fly on Joint Polar Satellite System-4 (JPSS-4), the
next satellite in the series, as part of a collaboration between NASA and the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The satellite, targeted
for launch in 2027, will be named NOAA-22 once in orbit.
The University of Colorado Boulder’s
Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) developed and built the
Libera instrument after it was selected as the first Earth Venture Continuity
mission – a NASA program that focuses on innovative, low-cost ways to maintain
important Earth science measurements as older missions come to an end. Libera
will continue the data record of Earth’s radiation budget, following the series
of Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments that flew
on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission in 1997 and continued on the Terra,
Aqua, Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership, and NOAA-20 satellites. Libera
is named for the daughter of Ceres in Roman mythology, a nod to its
predecessors.
NASA has been monitoring the flow of
radiant energy in the Earth-atmosphere system for over a half century. This
energy drives the motions of the atmosphere and oceans, fuels photosynthesis in
plants, forms the protective ozone layer, and sustains all life on Earth.
Understanding these flows informs weather forecasting and agricultural planning
and prediction among many other applications. It enables an accurate evaluation
of Earth system trends for informed strategic planning and risk assessments by
the U.S. government and commercial industries.
Libera will be the fifth and final
instrument delivered to Northrop Grumman in Gilbert, Arizona, for installation
onto the JPSS-4 satellite. The other instruments onboard JPSS-4 are the Visible
Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite, the Cross-track Infrared Sounder, the
Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder, and the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite.
NASA’s Earth System Science Pathfinder
Program Office, based at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia,
manages the Libera mission. The JPSS-4 satellite is managed through a
collaboration between NOAA, and NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt,
Maryland.
To learn more about Libera, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/mission/libera/
Libera team members at LASP discussing components of
the instrument’s suite of four radiometers during environmental testing.
LASP/CU Boulder/Glenn J. Asakawa
Source: NASA
Earth Energy Instrument Completes Testing, Ready for Delivery - NASA Science
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