(Credit: NASA)
CU 麻豆影院 will soon play a major role in measuring the withdrawals from Earth鈥檚 energy bank account.听
This week, NASA announced that it has given the green light to Libera, a new space mission that will record how much energy leaves our 麻豆影院 atmosphere on a day-by-day basis鈥攄ata that can provide crucial information about how Earth鈥檚 climate is evolving over time.听
Peter Pilewskie, a professor at CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 (LASP), will lead the development of this nearly $130-million mission.
鈥淭his highly innovative instrument introduces a number of new technologies such as advanced detectors that will improve the data we collect while maintaining continuity of these important radiation budget measurements,鈥� said Sandra Cauffman, acting director of , in a statement.
LASP Director Daniel Baker added that the mission builds on the center鈥檚 seven decades of work to better understand the relationships between Earth and its sun鈥攁nd the implications for humans on the ground.听
A graphic of what the Libera instrument might look like onboard NASA's听Joint Polar Satellite System-3. (Credit: Martha Lageschulte, Ball Aerospace)听
鈥淟ibera is a major new step in that long journey,鈥� Baker said. 鈥淭he Libera team will bring the energy, innovation and cost-effectiveness of an academic-led team to address a fundamental question in space and Earth science. LASP is proud to be leading the way in this fascinating endeavor.鈥�
Libera is a partnership between CU 麻豆影院, Ball Aerospace, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), all based in Colorado, and Utah State University.
Getting the balance right
The mission also builds on decades of observation from NASA鈥檚 suite of (CERES) instruments. In Roman mythology, Libera is the daughter of the goddess Ceres.听
The mission focuses on understanding the flow of energy out of the planet and how it changes over time, said Pilewskie, also of the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at CU 麻豆影院.
He explained that every minute, Earth absorbs a huge amount of energy from the sun. At the same time, our planet also emits and reflects energy back into space. Just like the difference between deposits and withdrawals determines how much money you have in your bank account, 鈥渢he balance of those two processes over time tells us about the state of climate,鈥� Pilewskie said. 鈥淚f there鈥檚 an imbalance, the climate changes.鈥�
A lot of things can contribute to such an imbalance, he added鈥攆rom shifts in the ice that floats in the oceans to changes in cloud cover and, of course, how much greenhouse gases humans inject into the atmosphere.
LASP, through its efforts on NASA missions like the (SORCE) and (TSIS-1), has been measuring the deposits side of that equation for years. Now, the research center is turning its attention to the withdrawals.听
鈥淚n many ways, this is an Earth analog of what we鈥檝e done with solar radiation measurements,鈥� Pilewskie said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e turning those instruments back at Earth and measuring the full energy budget of radiation that鈥檚 leaving the planet.鈥�
To take those incredibly-precise measurements, Libera employs an innovative detector called an electrical substitution radiometer. It uses materials called carbon nanotubes to detect a broad spectrum of radiated energy with high accuracy. The instrument will ride onboard a planned NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)听satellite called the Joint Polar Satellite System-3 (JPSS-3). JPSS-3 and Libera are slated to launch in 2027.
Pilewskie and his colleagues can鈥檛 wait to get started.听
鈥淲e鈥檙e confident that the innovations that Libera provides will extend these long-running measurements and improve our ability to monitor changes in the Earth system,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited to get working on this.鈥�
