First Satellite in Global Air Quality Constellation Launches

news image
Special Stories
25 Feb 2020 2:00 AM
[An Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket carrying South Korea's Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) instrument launches Tuesday, Feb. 18, from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. Credits: Courtesy of Arianespace] [From NASA]   South Korea's Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) instrument on the Korean Aerospace Research Institute GEO-KOMPSAT-2B satellite recently launched into orbit aboard an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket Tuesday, Feb. 18, from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. A sister instrument to NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO), GEMS will be the first satellite instrument in a constellation of three satellite instruments that will revolutionize the way scientists observe air quality over significant swaths of the Northern Hemisphere. GEMS will monitor atmospheric gases over Asia hourly during daytime from a geostationary, or fixed, orbit over the equator. This marks a significant leap forward in scientists' ability to monitor air pollution from space. [The Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) is designed to provide measurements of air quality over South Korea and the greater Asia-Pacific region by measuring tropospheric pollution from space. The GEMS 10-year mission will investigate chemical concentrations critical to air quality, such as nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, ozone, and other aerosols.] GEMS is nearly identical to TEMPO, which is scheduled to launch into geostationary orbit in 2022 as a payload on Intelsat 40e. TEMPO will make hourly daytime measurements of air quality over North America. Both GEMS and TEMPO were built by Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado. The European Space Agency's Sentinel-4, currently in development, will observe air quality over Europe. All three instruments will provide data products that will improve scientists' ability to understand and forecast air quality around the Northern Hemisphere.
All Weather News
More
Summertime Heat Prompts Fire Danger in the Northern Plains

Summertime Heat Prompts Fire Danger in the Northern Plains

NORTHERN PLAINS - Temperatures were incredibl

12 May 2025 10:40 PM
Florida’s Rainy Season Starting Ahead of Schedule

Florida’s Rainy Season Starting Ahead of Schedule

An upper-level low will meander around the Gu

12 May 2025 10:35 PM
Severe Threat Continues in the Southeast

Severe Threat Continues in the Southeast

The Southeast can not seem to shake the storm

12 May 2025 10:30 PM
Severe Weather Ramps Up Late Week

Severe Weather Ramps Up Late Week

We've been stuck in a pretty stagnant pattern

12 May 2025 7:55 PM
Northern Great Plains and Rockies Storm Threat

Northern Great Plains and Rockies Storm Threat

HIGH PLAINS - With temperatures pushing 80-90

12 May 2025 7:45 PM
Flood Threat Lingers in New England Saturday

Flood Threat Lingers in New England Saturday

A break in storms for the Northeast is on the

10 May 2025 7:25 PM
Huge Hail in the Mid-South Thursday, Storms Linger in the Carolinas Today

Huge Hail in the Mid-South Thursday, Storms Linger in the Carolinas Today

Hail over the size of tennis balls and baseba

9 May 2025 7:45 PM