WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Since launching in 2023, TEMPO has been measuring the quality of the air we breathe from 22,000 miles above the ground. June 19 marked the successful completion of TEMPO's 20-month-long initial prime mission, and it was extended based on the quality of measurements by TEMPO, NASA said in a press release.
The TEMPO mission is NASA's first to use a spectrometer to gather hourly air quality data continuously over North America during daytime hours. It can see details down to just a few square miles, a significant advancement over previous satellites.
'NASA satellites have a long history of missions lasting well beyond the primary mission timeline. While TEMPO has completed its primary mission, the life for TEMPO is far from over,' said Laura Judd, research physical scientist and TEMPO science team member at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. 'It is a big jump going from once-daily images prior to this mission to hourly data. We are continually learning how to use this data to interpret how emissions change over time and how to track anomalous events, such as smoggy days in cities or the transport of wildfire smoke.'
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