by Patrick L. Barry
These images, made from EO-1 data, are of La Plata, Maryland, before and after a tornado swept through May 1, 2002 |
Landsat 7 measures only 8 points along the spectrum; in contrast, EO-1 measures 220 points (with wavelengths between 0.4 to 2.5 =B5m) thanks to the prototype Hyperion "hyperspectral" sensor onboard. That means that EO-1 can detect much more subtle fingerprints than Landsat and reveal a more complete picture of the chemicals that comprise the environment.
As a NASA New Millennium Program mission, the original purpose for EO-1 was just to "test drive" this next-generation Hyperion sensor and other cutting-edge satellite technologies, so that future satellites could use the technologies without the risk of flying them for the first time. It was never meant to be a science data-gathering mission.
But it has become one. "We were the only hyperspectral sensor flying in space, so it was advantageous to keep us up there," says Dr. Thomas Brakke, EO-1 Mission Deputy Scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.
Now, almost three years after it was scheduled to be de-orbited, EO-1 is still collecting valuable data about our planet's natural ecosystems. Scientists have begun more than a dozen environmental studies to take advantage of EO-1's extended mission. Topics range from mapping harmful invasive plant species to documenting the impacts of cattle grazing in Argentina to monitoring bush fires in Australia.
Not bad for a satellite in retirement!
Read about EO1 at http://eo1.gsfc.nasa.gov. See sample EO-1 images at http://eo1.usgs.gov/samples.php. Budding young astronomers can learn more at http://spaceplace.nasa.gov/eo1_1.htm.
This article was provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
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