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Aquarius Sunshade "Fit Check" of Half the Sunshade

April 19, 2011
A 'fit check' of half the sunshade is completed to verify the clearance of NASA's Aquarius ground lug as well as the blanket interface with the service platform top deck.

A "fit check" of half the sunshade is completed to verify the clearance of the Aquarius ground lug as well as the blanket interface with the service platform top deck.

Aquarius/SAC-D is an international mission involving NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comisín Nacional de Actividades Espaciales. Aquarius, the primary instrument on the mission, was built jointly by JPL and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. It will provide monthly global maps of how the concentration of dissolved salt (known as salinity) varies on the ocean surface. Salinity is a key tracer for understanding the ocean's role in Earth's water cycle and understanding ocean circulation.

By measuring ocean salinity from space, Aquarius will provide new insights into how the massive natural interplay of freshwater moving among the ocean, atmosphere and sea ice influences Earth's ocean circulation, weather and climate.

For more information on Aquarius, visit http://www.aquarius.nasa.gov.

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