About the Mission
The Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, will maintain the nation's real-time solar wind monitoring capabilities
which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA's space weather alerts and forecasts. Without timely and accurate warnings, space weather events like the geomagnetic storms caused by changes in solar wind have the potential to disrupt nearly every major public infrastructure system, including power grids, telecommunications, aviation and GPS.
which are critical to the accuracy and lead time of NOAA's space weather alerts and forecasts. Without timely and accurate warnings, space weather events like the geomagnetic storms caused by changes in solar wind have the potential to disrupt nearly every major public infrastructure system, including power grids, telecommunications, aviation and GPS.
DSCOVR will succeed NASA's Advanced Composition
Explore's (ACE) role in supporting solar wind alerts and warnings from
the L1 orbit, the neutral gravity point between the Earth and sun
approximately one million miles from Earth. L1 is a good position from
which to monitor the sun, because the constant stream of particles from
the sun (the solar wind) reaches L1 about an hour before reaching Earth.
From this position, DSCOVR will typically be
able to provide 15 to 60 minute warning time before the surge of
particles and magnetic field, known as a coronal mass ejection (or CME),
associated with a geomagnetic storm reaches Earth. DSCOVR data will
also be used to improve predictions of geomagnetic storm impact
locations. Our national security and economic well-being, which depend
on advanced technologies, are at risk without these advanced warnings.
More information about the DSCOVR Program:
DSCOVR Glossary (PDF)
DSCOVR Quick Reference (PDF)
DSCOVR space weather data now available!!!
July 27, 2016
Real-time data from DSCOVR and space weather
forecasts are now available through the Space Weather Prediction Center.
An archive of DSCOVR data is also accessible to users, who will be able
to visualize and download the data.
GOES-R ready to join DSCOVR; will provide more complete picture of space weather
Set to launch November, 2016, GOES-R will also help scientists monitor space weather.
Tom Berger of NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center explains how these two satellites work together.
The DSCOVR operational transition highlights
the value of the NOAA and NASA team that delivered the mission to space.
The partnership between the research and operational Agencies has
worked well for many years and will continue with NASA providing
research and NOAA providing operational space weather observations.
DSCOVR Captures an EPIC Year
July 22, 2016
A year after returning it's first image, NASA's
EPIC camera, aboard NOAA's DSCOVR satellite, shows us an entire year
from one million miles away.
This video was created using NASA’s Earth
Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and
telescope, aboard NOAA's DSCOVR satellite. EPIC takes a new picture
every two hours, revealing how the planet would look to human eyes,
capturing the ever-changing motion of clouds and weather systems and the
fixed features of Earth such as deserts, forests and the distinct blues
of different seas. The camera has now recorded a full year of life on
Earth from its orbit, seen here.
A million miles away, NOAA's DSCOVR, the
Nation's first operational satellite in deep space, orbits a unique
location called Lagrange point 1, or L1. This orbit is a gravity neutral
point in space, allowing DSCOVR to essentially hover between the sun
and Earth at all times, maintaining a constant view of the sun and
sun-lit side of Earth. From here, the satellite can provide advanced
solar measurements and early warnings of potentially dangerous space
weather events, acting as a solar storm buoy in deep space.
Thanks to NASA's EPIC imager, DSCOVR's orbit
also gives Earth scientists a unique vantage point for studies of the
atmosphere and climate by continuously viewing the sunlit side of the
planet. EPIC provides global spectral images of of Earth and insight
into Earth's energy balance. EPIC's observations provide a unique
angular perspective, and are used in science applications to measure
ozone amounts, aerosol amounts, cloud height and phase, vegetation
properties, hotspot land properties and UV radiation estimates at
Earth's surface.
Learn more about this video at http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/12312.
DSCOVR Captures EPIC Eclipse
March 11, 2016
NASA's EPIC camera, aboard NOAA's DSCOVR
satellite, captured a unique view of this week's solar eclipse. While
residents of the Western Pacific looked up in the early morning hours to
observe a total eclipse of the sun, DSCOVR looked on from a million
miles away and captured the shadow of the moon crossing the planet.
This series of images was captured by NASA’s
Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera
and telescope on the DSCOVR satellite. A million miles away, NOAA's
DSCOVR satellite is the Nation's first operational satellite in deep
space. DSCOVR hovers between the sun and Earth at all times, maintaining
a constant view of the sun and sun-lit side of Earth. From here, the
satellite can provide advanced solar measurements and early warnings of
potentially dangerous space weather events, acting as a solar storm buoy
in deep space.
NASA's EPIC imager also gives Earth scientists a
unique vantage point for studies of the atmosphere and climate by
continuously viewing the sunlit side of the planet. The EPIC imager
provides global spectral images of Earth and insight into Earth's energy
balance. EPIC's observations provide a unique angular perspective, and
will be used in science applications to measure ozone amounts, aerosol
amounts, cloud height and phase, vegetation properties, hotspot land
properties and UV radiation estimates at Earth's surface.
To learn more about this EPIC eclipse, visit: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=87675&eocn=home&eoci=iotd_image
Credit: NASA image courtesy of the DSCOVR EPIC team.
DSCOVR completes its first year in deep space!
March 7, 2016
Launched one year ago, on February 11, 2015,
DSCOVR – the nation’s first operational satellite in deep space – is now
orbiting one million miles away and will soon become America’s primary
warning system for solar magnetic storms and solar wind data while
giving Earth scientists a unique vantage point for studies of the
planet's atmosphere and climate.
NOAA now in DSCOVR’s “Driver Seat” as NASA Officially Hands over Command
October 28, 2015
DSCOVR successfully launched on
February 11, 2015 from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It took the satellite
just over 100 days to reach its final orbit at Lagrange point 1. Credit
NOAA
Earlier today, NOAA officially took command of its Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite.
NASA, in charge of both the launch and
activation of the satellite, has officially handed over satellite
operations to NOAA’s DSCOVR team. Next, the team will optimize the final
space weather instrument settings and the satellite will soon begin
normal operation.
Launched February 11, 2015, DSCOVR – the
nation’s first operational satellite in deep space – is set to replace
NASA’s 17-year old ACE research satellite as America’s primary warning
system for solar magnetic storms and solar wind data. (ACE will continue
its role in space weather research).
DSCOVR will give NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) forecasters higher-quality measurements of solar wind conditions, improving their ability to monitor and warn of severe and potentially dangerous space weather events.
Like a sensor buoy at sea can warn us of on
oncoming tsunami, DSCOVR will be able to provide warnings 15 to 60
minutes before solar storms reach Earth.
America’s first operational deep space
satellite orbits one million miles from Earth. Positioned between the
sun and Earth, it is able to maintain a constant view of the sun and
sun-lit side of Earth. This location is called Lagrange point 1. (Illustration is not to scale) Credit: NOAA
A million miles away, DSCOVR orbits a unique location called Lagrange point 1, or L1. This point is a gravity neutral point in space, allowing DSCOVR to essentially hover between the sun and Earth at all times.
DSCOVR will be our eyes on the sun, and give us
early warning when it detects a surge of energy that could trigger a
geomagnetic storm destined for Earth,” said Stephen Volz, Ph.D.,
assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.
Early warnings are crucial because solar
storms have the potential to produce major disruptions to our
infrastructure here on Earth.
The most severe solar storms start with a huge
magnetic eruption on the Sun that is first seen as a solar flare. X-rays
produced in the flare inflame the Earth’s ionosphere and can disrupt
high-frequency radio communications like those used in commercial
aviation to communicate with aircraft. The eruption can also cause a
“coronal mass ejection,” sending enormous clouds of magnetic plasma that
can cause strong electrical currents in the ionosphere and inside the
Earth, disrupting electrical power grids, corroding gas and oil
pipelines, and impeding the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS)
by search-and-rescue crews.
In 2013, a Lloyds of London study predicted
that the most extreme space weather storms could affect 20 to 40 million
people in the U.S. and cause up to $2.6 trillion in damages, with
recovery taking up to two years.
An aurora as seen over the Poker Flat
Research Range north of Fairbanks, Alaska, on February 28, 2011. An
aurora is caused when charged particles from the Sun, mainly electrons
and protons, interact with the upper atmosphere. Credit: NOAA
Outside of our atmosphere, these solar storms can harm astronauts and the equipment they rely on to survive. In fact, in 1972 a solar flare came within months of disrupting the last two Apollo missions to the moon!
In addition to its space weather instrument
suite, DSCOVR is flying two NASA Earth-observing instruments, known as
NISTAR and EPIC, which will gather a range of measurements, from ozone
and aerosol amounts to changes in Earth's radiation. Daily views of
Earth from NASA’s EPIC can be seen at http://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov.
DSCOVR is a partnership between NOAA, NASA and
the U.S. Air Force. NOAA is operating DSCOVR from its NOAA Satellite
Operations Facility in Suitland, Maryland, and will process the space
weather data at SWPC in Boulder, Colorado. From there, the SWPC will
distribute the DSCOVR data to users within the United States and around
the world. The data will be archived at NOAA’s National Geophysical Data
Center, also in Boulder.
NOAA funded NASA to refurbish the DSCOVR
satellite and its solar wind instruments, develop the command and
control portion of the ground segment, and manage the launch and
activation of the satellite. The Air Force funded and managed the Falcon
9 launch services for DSCOVR. Data from the NASA-funded secondary
sensors for Earth and space science observations will be processed at
NASA’s DSCOVR Science Operations Center and archived and distributed by
NASA’s Atmospheric Science Data Center.
Looking for more on space weather and solar observations? Check out the following links!
- VIDEO: What happens at the sun doesn’t stay at the sun
- VIDEO: The Deep Space Climate Observatory Satellite
- VIDEO: Monitoring Space Weather: How NOAA monitors space weather and models its impact
Daily Views of Earth Available on New NASA Website
Oct 19, 2015
NASA launched a new
website Monday so the world can see images of the full, sunlit side of
the Earth every day. The images are taken by a NASA camera one million
miles away on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (DSCOVR), a partnership
between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) and the U.S. Air Force.
Once a day NASA will post at least a dozen new
color images of Earth acquired from 12 to 36 hours earlier by NASA’s
Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC). Each daily sequence of images
will show the Earth as it rotates, thus revealing the whole globe over
the course of a day. The new website also features an archive of EPIC
images searchable by date and continent.
The primary objective
of NOAA’s DSCOVR mission is to maintain the nation’s real-time solar
wind monitoring capabilities, which are critical to the accuracy and
lead time of space weather alerts and forecasts from NOAA. NASA has two
Earth-observing instruments on the spacecraft. EPIC's images of Earth
allow scientists to study daily variations over the entire globe in such
features as vegetation, ozone, aerosols, and cloud height and
reflectivity.
EPIC is a four megapixel CCD camera and
telescope. The color Earth images are created by combining three
separate single-color images to create a photographic-quality
imageequivalent to a 12-megapixel camera. The camera takes a series of
10 images using different narrowband filters -- from ultraviolet to near
infrared -- to produce a variety of science products. The red, green
and blue channel images are used to create the color images. Each
image is about 3 megabytes in size.
"The effective resolution of the DSCOVR EPIC
camera is somewhere between 6.2 and 9.4 miles (10 and
15 kilometers)," said Adam Szabo, DSCOVR project scientist at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.
Since Earth is extremely bright in the darkness
of space, EPIC has to take very short exposure images (20-100
milliseconds). The much fainter stars are not visible in the background
as a result of the short exposure times.
The DSCOVR spacecraft orbits around the L1
Lagrange point directly between Earth and the sun. This orbit keeps the
spacecraft near the L1 point and requires only occasional small
maneuvers, but its orbit can vary from 4 to 15 degrees away from the
sun-Earth line over several years.
EPIC was built by Lockheed Martin’s Advanced
Technology Center, in Palo Alto, California. Using an 11.8-inch
(30-centimeter) telescope and 2048 x 2048 CCD detector, EPIC measures in
the ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared areas of the spectrum. The
data from all 10 wavelengths are posted through a website hosted by the
Atmospheric Science Data Center at NASA's Langley Research Center,
Hampton, Virginia. All images are in the public domain.
NASA uses the vantage point of space to
increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives, and
safeguard our future. NASA develops new ways to observe and study
Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records. The
agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with institutions
around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.
For daily images from EPIC, visit: http://epic.gsfc.nasa.gov/
From a Million Miles Away, NASA Camera Shows Moon Crossing Face of Earth
August 5, 2015
A NASA camera aboard the Deep Space
Climate Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite captured a unique view of the
moon as it moved in front of the sunlit side of Earth last month. The
series of test images shows the fully illuminated “dark side” of the
moon that is never visible from Earth.
The images were captured by NASA’s Earth
Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC), a four megapixel CCD camera and
telescope on the DSCOVR satellite orbiting 1 million miles from Earth.
From its position between the sun and Earth, DSCOVR conducts its primary
mission of real-time solar wind monitoring for the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NASA Satellite Camera Provides “EPIC” View of Earth
July 20, 2015
A NASA camera on the Deep Space Climate
Observatory (DSCOVR) satellite has returned its first view of the
entire sunlit side of Earth from one million miles away.
The color images of Earth from NASA’s Earth
Polychromatic Imaging Camera (EPIC) are generated by combining three
separate images to create a photographic-quality image. The camera takes
a series of 10 images using different narrowband filters -- from
ultraviolet to near infrared -- to produce a variety of science
products. The red, green and blue channel images are used in these Earth
images.
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