Aquarius
-
Aquarius - SAC-D (Artist's Concept)
Artist's concept of the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft. Aquarius will take NASA's first space-based measurements of ocean surface salinity.
› Full image and caption
-
Aquarius Artist Concept
Artist's concept of NASA's Aquarius/SAC-D observatory. SAC-D observatory will provide NASA's first space-based global measurements of salinity at the ocean surface.
› Full image and caption
-
Aquarius Deployment Test
Aquarius reflector deployment is tested in the clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
› Full image and caption
-
NASA's Salt-Seeking Instrument Gets a Silvery Blanket
Technicians from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., install thermal blankets on the Aquarius instrument at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research.
› Full image and caption
-
Gold Foil on Aquarius Reflector
Aquarius 2.5 meter composite reflector being fitted with gold foil covering in the clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
› Full image and caption
-
Aquarius at JPL
Aquarius instrument, including 2.5 meter reflector, in the clean room at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.
› Full image and caption
-
Final Checks of Aquarius Instrument
Less than two months before launch, team members conduct their final checks of NASA's Aquarius instrument at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Subsequent final instrument tests will be conducted on the launch pad.
› Full image and caption
-
Aquarius - SAC-D Spacecraft is Prepped for Shipping
Technicians lower the cover over the shipping container holding the international Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research.
› Full image and caption
-
Aquarius Lifts Off!
A Delta II rocket launches with the Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft payload from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on Friday, June 10, 2011.
› Full image and caption
-
NASA's 'Salt of the Earth' Aquarius Reveals First Map
NASA's Aquarius instrument has produced its first global map of the salinity, or saltiness, of Earth's ocean surface, providing an early glimpse of the mission's anticipated discoveries.
› Full image and caption
Mission Summary
Over a three-year period, the Aquarius mission will provide the first global observations of sea surface salinity, giving climatologists a better understanding of the ocean's role in Earth's water cycle and weather patterns, as well as global climate change.
Together with sensors that measure sea level, ocean color, temperature, winds, rainfall and evaporation, Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument aboard the Argentinian space agency's Satélite de Aplicaciones CientÃficas spacecraft, will offer a much clearer picture of how the ocean works, how it is linked to climate and how it may respond to climate change.
