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Map of Groundwater Storage Trends for Earth's 37 Largest Aquifers
GRACE-FO Separating from Rocket After Launch
Gallery
Gravity Anomaly Map Using GRACE Data
Gravity anomaly map using GRACE data.
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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
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
A simplified example of how the distance between the GRACE-FO satellites changes as they pass from the Caribbean Sea across Colombia and Peru.
How GRACE-FO Measures Gravity
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 2).&nb...
GRACE-FO Satellites During Testing (View 2)
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
Changes in total water storage on Earth in 2007, as measured by GRACE.
Water Storage on Earth in 2007
Changes in Australia's mass observed by GRACE in 2010 and 2011. Areas in greens and blues had the greatest increases in mass, caused by unusually high precipitation connected with a large La Ni...
Changes in Australia's Mass Observed by GRACE in 2010 and 2011
For 15 years, the GRACE mission has unlocked mysteries of how water moves around our planet. It gave us the first view of underground aquifers from space, and shows how fast polar ice sheets and mo...
15 Years of GRACE Earth Observations
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is seen with the NASA/German Research Centre for Geosciences GRACE Follow-On spacecraft onboard at Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California...
GRACE-FO in Falcon 9 on Launchpad
NASA JPL-UC Irvine glaciologist Eric Rignot explains how glaciers in West Antarctica are changing.
West Antarctic Collapse
The rainy and dry seasons in the Amazon Basin in 2004, revealed by gravity anomalies observed by GRACE. Reds and pinks show where and when mass was higher than average, a sign that more water was p...
Rainy and Dry Seasons in the Amazon (2004)
Monthly changes in ocean bottom pressure data obtained by the GRACE satellites from November 2002 to January 2012.
Ocean Bottom Pressure 2002-2012
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 one of the satellites in the testing facility of IABG, an Airbus subcontractor, in Munich (view 3).&nb...
GRACE-FO Satellites in Testing
Gravity variations studied by GRACE can be used to determine ground water storage on land masses.
Global Terrestrial Water Storage Anomaly
The GRACE-FO satellites, attached to turntable fixtures, at the Astrotech Space Operations processing facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Satellites at Vandenberg
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
An animation showing “sea level fingerprints,” or patterns of rising and falling sea levels across the globe in response to changes in Earth’s gravitational and rotational fields....
Cumulative Sea Level Change 2002-2015
This map from September 2015 shows deep drought in California, Nevada and Texas.
Groundwater Drought Indicator
This visualization displays monthly GRACE data in the Amazon basin, demonstrating water storage and movement.
Amazon Basin Monthly GRACE Data
Visualization of the mass change over Greenland from January 2004 through June 2014.
GRACE Mission Measures Global Ice Mass Changes
The twin satellites of NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-on, or GRACE-FO, will track the movement of water around Earth. This short video explains how and why it's impor...
Why Is GRACE-FO So Important?
NASAs Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) has measured significant groundwater depletion around the world in recent years.
GRACE Sees Groundwater Losses Around the World
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
Research based on GRACE observations indicates that between 2002 and 2016, Greenland shed approximately 280 gigatons of ice per year.
Greenland Ice Loss 2002-2016
The rocket carrying GRACE-FO lifts off into a blue sky, with the Pacific Ocean beneath it.
GRACE-FO Launch, Sky and Sea
GRACE-FO mission logo
GRACE-FO Logo
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Antarctica.
GRACE-FO Above Antarctica
Illustration of GRACE-FO separating from Falcon 9 rocket after launch.
GRACE-FO Separating from Rocket After Launch
GRACE Rendering
GRACE Rendering
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
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 4)
Illustration of GRACE-FO (View 4)
GRACE-FO will measure Atlantic Ocean bottom pressure as an indicator of deep ocean current speed, as GRACE did.
Ocean Bottom Pressure
Illustration of GRACE-FO gravity data over Africa.
GRACE-FO Gravity Data Over Africa
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Alaska.
Illustration of GRACE-FO Above Alaska
An artist's rendering of the twin GRACE-FO spacecraft.
GRACE-FO Rendering
GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) continues the legacy of GRACE, tracking Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surfa...
GRACE-FO Mission Brochure
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 3).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 3)
GRACE-FO arriving at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, from Germany.
GRACE-FO Arrives at Vandenberg
Flames from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launching GRACE-FO into orbit.
Rocket Flames
Many of today’s most pressing climate science challenges hinge on knowing how and where water is moving on Earth. GRACE-FO will continue the successful partnership between NASA and the German...
GRACE-FO Launch Press Kit
The GRACE Intermediate Field 48 (GIF48 from UT-CSR) field model is an improved mean gravity field that combines GRACE observations and terrestrial gravity information.
Static Gravity Field Anomalies
Depletion of groundwater in northwestern India between 2002 and 2008, measured by GRACE.
Groundwater Depletion in India, 2002-2008
GRACE observed Earth’s surface mass changes nearly every month from 2002 to mid-2017. GRACE Follow-On will provide crucial continuity to these observations for the next five years or more.
Earth Mass Changes, 2002 to 2017
The force of gravity not only keeps us from floating away, it also lets NASA study Earth’s water and ice from space. Using a pair of twin satellites named GRACE, we can monitor our planet&rsq...
Scale in the Sky
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
A long exposure of the GRACE-FO launch from Vandenberg
GRACE-FO Launch, Long Exposure
GRACE-Follow On (GRACE-FO) is a satellite mission scheduled for launch in May 2018. GRACE-FO will continue the work of the GRACE satellite mission tracking Earth's water movement around the glo...
Tracking Water from Space
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
GRACE-FO in a protective shipping container arriving at a new facility at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
GRACE-FO Arrives at Vandenberg
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 5).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 5)
The Laser Ranging Interferometer instrument.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
Variations in water storage in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins from 2003 to 2009, measured by GRACE. Reds represent drier conditions, while blues represent wetter conditions. The majority of ...
Tigris and Euphrates Water Storage, 2003 to 2009
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 2).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 2)
The signal of the December 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean in GRACE observations of Earth's gravity field.
GRACE Sees Earthquake in Indian Ocean
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
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
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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
The laser ranging interferometer (LRI) instrument has been successfully switched on aboard the recently launched twin U.S./German Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) satellites.
First Laser Light for GRACE Follow-On
Antarctic ice losses have tripled since 2012, raising global sea levels by 0.12 inch (3 millimeters) in that timeframe alone, finds a new NASA/ESA-funded climate assessment.
Ramp-Up in Antarctic Ice Loss Speeds Sea Level Rise
GRACE-FO has completed its first mission phase and demonstrated the performance of the precise ranging system that enables its measurements of how mass migrates around Earth.
GRACE-FO Turns on ‘Range Finder,’ Sees Mountain Effects
All flight and ground systems have performed well throughout the Launch and Early Operations Period. The accelerometer and microwave science instruments have been powered on successfully and the two satellites are in relative pointing mode.
Latest Spacecraft Status
