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Credit: NASA
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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 important.
Why Is GRACE-FO So Important?
Work begins to build NASA’s twin satellites, under construction by Airbus Defense and Space.
Build Commences on GRACE-FO Satellites
GRACE Follow-On continues the critical mission of measuring the movements of mass within and between Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, land and ice sheets, as well as below Earth’s surface.
GRACE-FO Fact Sheet
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 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
The rocket carrying GRACE-FO lifts off into a blue sky, with the Pacific Ocean beneath it.
GRACE-FO Launch, Sky and Sea
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)
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
Illustration of GRACE-FO gravity data over Africa.
GRACE-FO Gravity Data Over Africa
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
Changes in total water storage on Earth in 2007, as measured by GRACE.
Water Storage on Earth in 2007
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 GRACE mission launched in 2002, changing our understanding of Earth.
15 Years of GRACE
Illustration of GRACE-FO above Alaska.
Illustration of GRACE-FO Above Alaska
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
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space poster
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space Poster
While the two spacecraft of the GRACE-FO mission go through testing at the IABG facitilty in Germany, engineers deploy the S-Band antenna boom to ensure that it works.
Airbus Tests GRACE-FO Antenna Boom
Illustration of GRACE-FO in orbit (view 5).
GRACE-FO in Orbit (View 5)
Illustration of GRACE-FO separating from Falcon 9 rocket after launch.
GRACE-FO Separating from Rocket After Launch
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
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
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
GRACE Follow-On will test a Laser Ranging Interferometer to measure intersatellite distance changes with unprecedented precision.
Laser Ranging Interferometer
GRACE Flight Trajectory
GRACE Flight Trajectory
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An international team of scientists using observations from NASA-German satellites found evidence that Earth’s total amount of freshwater dropped abruptly starting in May 2014 and has remained low ever since.
NASA Satellites Reveal Abrupt Drop in Global Freshwater Levels
GRACE and GRACE-FO observations are now addressing the crucial need for sustainable groundwater management practices to ensure water resiliency amidst ongoing climate challenges in California.
Data in Action: GRACE and GRACE-FO are used by California's Department of Water Resources for Groundwater Management Information
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment-Continuity mission will extend a decades-long record of following shifting water masses using gravity measurements.
US, Germany Partnering on Mission to Track Earth's Water Movement
This immersive experience leverages satellite data to illustrate how climate change is impacting Earth’s water cycle.
Google's ‘A Passage of Water' Brings NASA's Water Data to Life
Early data shows the greatest net gain of water over the winter in nearly 22 years, but the state’s groundwater levels still suffer from the effects of years of drought.
US-German Satellites Show California Water Gains After Record Winter
Scientists have predicted that droughts and floods will become more frequent and severe as our planet warms and climate changes, but detecting this on regional and continental scales has proven difficult. Now a new NASA-led study confirms that major droughts and pluvials – periods of excessive precipitation and water storage on land – have indeed been occurring more often.
Warming Makes Droughts, Extreme Wet Events More Frequent, Intense
