With a mission to monitor the total amount of the Sun's energy reaching Earth, the Active Cavity Irradiance Monitor Satellite launches. This Earth-directed energy, called total solar irradiance, creates the winds, heats the land and drives ocean currents.

Some scientists theorize that a significant fraction of Earth's global warming may be solar in origin due to small increases in the Sun's total energy output since the last century. By measuring incoming solar radiation, climatologists will be able to improve their predictions of climate change and global warming over the next century.

See also: Acrimsat web page