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WHAT IS AQUARIUS ?

Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure global Sea Surface Salinity (SSS). Scientific progress is limited because conventional in situ SSS sampling is too sparse to give the global view of salinity variability that only a satellite can provide. Aquarius is planning to launch in 2010. Aquarius/SAC-D is a space mission developed by NASA and the Space Agency of Argentina (Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, CONAE.)

Understanding the interaction between ocean circulation, the water cycle, and climate by measuring ocean salinity.

MISSION STATUS & EVENTS

Aquarius passed Mission Confirmation Review on September 28, 2005. Thus the project has completed formulation activities (Phase B), during which the mission requirements, design and costs have been developed and reviewed, and has begun the implementation (Phases C & D), when the flight hardware is built, tested and readied for launch.
After a four-year development effort, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) delivered the Aquarius Radiometer to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California in January 2008. The Radiometer, built by an in-house team of scientists, engineers, and technicians at GSFC is part of the international Aquarius/SAC-D mission. The Radiometer will be integrated with the Aquarius instrument at JPL. (Click here to learn more)

LATEST NEWS

October 4, 2006

Researchers Link Ice-Age Climate-Change Records to Ocean Salinity

March 20, 2006

Scientists use satellites to detect deep-ocean whirlpools

June 16, 2005

How Much Excess Fresh Water Was Added to the North Atlantic in Recent Decades?|

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Last Updated: April 18, 2008