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GRACE Mission Measures Global Ice Mass Changes
Laser Ranging Interferometer
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Between 2002 and 2016, Antarctica shed approximately 125 gigatons of ice per year, causing global sea level to rise by 0.35 millimeters per year.
Antarctic Ice Loss 2002-2016
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO Launches, Wide Shot
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows one of the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 3).
GRACE-FO Satellites in Testing
Gravity anomaly map using GRACE data.
Gravity Anomaly Map Using GRACE Data
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
GRACE-FO Above Antarctica
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space poster
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space Poster
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 2).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 2)
The NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft launches onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9, May 22, 2018, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
GRACE-FO Launches, Ocean View
The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California (view 1).
GRACE-FO Satellites, Attached to Turntable Fixtures
This image shows the mean annual amplitude of total water storage on Earth in 2007 as measured by GRACE.
Total Water Storage from GRACE, 2007
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 5).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 5)
GRACE-FO in a protective shipping container arriving at a new facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Arrives at Vandenberg
The Laser Ranging Interferometer instrument.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
GRACE-FO arriving at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, from Germany.
GRACE-FO Arrives at Vandenberg
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 4)
Illustration of GRACE-FO (View 4)
The two GRACE-FO satellites are seen from GFZ’s Satellite Laser Ranging Station in Potsdam, Germany, on May 23, 2018 at 22:16 UTC and 22:17 UTC, respectively.
GRACE-FO Satellites From Potsdam
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Alaska.
Illustration of GRACE-FO Above Alaska
A GRACE-FO satellite and its turntable fixture at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Satellite on a Turntable Before Launch
This animation shows the annual water storage changes over the U.S. from GRACE from 2003 - 2013.
Annual Water Storage Changes over the U.S. from GRACE
GRACE-FO, a collaboration between NASA and German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on on May 22, 2018.
GRACE-FO Launches
The GRACE-FO satellites were assembled by Airbus Defence and Space in Germany. The photo shows the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 1).
GRACE-FO Satellites During Testing
GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 3).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 3)
Illustration of GRACE-FO separating from Falcon 9 rocket after launch.
GRACE-FO Separating from Rocket After Launch
A map of groundwater storage trends for Earth's 37 largest aquifers using GRACE data, showing depletion and replenishment in millimeters of water per year.
Map of Groundwater Storage Trends for Earth's 37 Largest Aquifers
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North America was almost entirely above its long-term average in mass in May 2019, due to Midwestern flooding, with the runoff raising the Great Lakes to record levels.
GRACE-FO Shows the Weight of Midwestern Floods
GRACE-FO releases first Level-2 data products, including nine monthly gravity fields and corresponding atmosphere and ocean dealiasing background model data.
GRACE-FO First Gravity Field Data Now Available
GRACE-FO First Science Data Now Available
GRACE-FO First Science Data Now Available
The University of Texas at Austin team that led a twin satellite system launched in 2002 to take detailed measurements of the Earth, called the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), reports in the most recent issue of the journal Nature Climate Change on the contributions that their nearly two decades of data have made to our understanding of global climate patterns.
GRACE Mission Data Contributes to Our Understanding of Climate Change
GRACE Follow-On has resumed collecting data after completing a switchover to a backup system.
GRACE-FO Resumes Data Collection
NASA's GRACE-FO team plans to switch to a backup system in the Microwave Instrument on one of the twin spacecraft this month.
GRACE-FO Satellite Switching to Backup Instrument Processing Unit
