A cross-section of the Earth's ozone layer as measured by the limb profiler, part of the Ozone Mapper Profiler Suite that's aboard the Suomi NPP satellite. A new instrument, the limb profiler makes high vertical resolution measurements of of the ozone layer, a shield that protects the Earth's surface from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation. Smaller amounts of overhead ozone is shown in blue, while larger amounts are shown in orange and yellow. Suomi NPP is a partnership between NASA, NOAA and the Department of Defense.

Credit: NASA/NOAA

...NASA's Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (Suomi NPP), was activated and has delivered its first images. The CERES model on Suomi NPP is known as Flight Model 5 (FM5). It is the sixth CERES instrument to be launched on a variety of NASA platforms, which include the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Earth Observing System (EOS) TERRA, and EOS AQUA. TERRA and AQUA each carry two CERES instruments. CERES instruments are broadband radiometers that measure the amount of reflected sunlight and thermal energy emitted by the Earth and its atmosphere.

CERES allows scientists to collect data to monitor the temperature of the planet and validate models that calculate the effect of clouds in driving planetary heating or cooling. Science teams around the world use CERES data to understand the Earth's radiation budget which helps compute global temperature changes over the long term. These temperature changes can be enough to increase or shrink arable land, lengthen growing seasons and enlarge cold zones or deserts.

CERES FM5 will carry forward the long-term Earth radiation budget measurements for the next several years. The CERES Flight Model 6 (FM6) instrument, currently in final testing, will be delivered in June as the first completed instrument for the next-generation of operational polar-orbiting environmental satellites called the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS). Maintaining the accuracy of the long-term data record started in the early 1980s requires overlap between CERES instruments on orbit. It was important that FM5 overlap the other CERES instruments on the EOS platforms, which are well beyond their design life, and that FM6 launches in time to overlap with FM5.