NASA is preparing for the launch of an instrument that will provide new insight into air quality in North America, observing air pollution from space more frequently and in greater detail than previous space-based instruments.
NASA is preparing for the launch of an instrument that will provide new insight into air quality in North America, observing air pollution from space more frequently and in greater detail than previous space-based instruments. It will also reveal disparities in pollution exposure.
The Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution instrument (TEMPO) is scheduled for an early April launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. TEMPO is mounted on a commercial communications satellite and will fly in an orbit that allows for hourly daytime observations of air quality in North America. It will observe pollutants down to a resolution of 4 square miles (10 square kilometers) and across an area that stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific and from central Canada to Mexico City. The dishwasher-sized instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and will fly on the Maxar-built Intelsat 40E satellite.
While efforts over the past 30 years to clean the dirty air that spews from smokestacks and tailpipes have been successful in improving air quality in the U.S., more than 40% of Americans still live and breathe in areas with episodes of poor air quality.
TEMPO will primarily observe three main pollutants: nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and ozone. Nitrogen dioxide is a noxious gas released from the burning of fuel that can cause difficulty breathing and exacerbate asthma. Formaldehyde – a byproduct of the breakdown of volatile organic compounds in paint, glue, and gasoline – has health effects that range from eye irritation to cancer. And while ozone high in the atmosphere protects us from the Sun's harmful ultraviolet rays, ground level-ozone is a main component of smog and is harmful to vegetation and human health.
Read more at NASA
Image: TEMPO is hosted on a commercial communication satellite, Intelsat 40E. (Credit: Courtesy of Maxar via NASA)
