Earth Observing System

The Earth Observing System (EOS) is a program of NASA comprising a series of artificial satellite missions and scientific instruments in Earth orbit designed for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, atmosphere, and oceans of the Earth. The satellite component of the program was launched in 1997. The program is centerpiece of NASA's Earth Science Enterprise (ESE).

Mission list with launch dates

NASA Earth Science Division Operating Missions as of 2 February 2015.

This animation shows the orbits of NASA's 2011 fleet of Earth remote sensing observatories

Active Mission	Completed Mission

Satellite	Launch Date	Designed Life	Completion Date	Launch Site	Agency	Mission description
ACRIMSAT	20 December 1999		30 July 2014	Vandenberg	NASA / JPL	Study Total Solar Irradiance
ADEOS II (Midori II)	14 December 2002		24 October 2003	Tanegashima	JAXA / NASA	Monitor the water and energy cycle as a part of the global climate system
SeaWiFS	1 August 1997	1 August 2012	11 December 2010	Vandenberg		Provide quantitative data on global ocean bio-optical properties
TRMM	27 November 1997	27 November 2000	9 April 2015	Tanegashima	NASA / JAXA	Monitor and study tropical rainfall
Landsat 7	15 April 1999		Active	Vandenberg	NASA	Supply the world with global land surface images
QuikSCAT	19 June 1999	19 June 2002	19 November 2009	Vandenberg	NASA / JPL	Acquire global radar cross-sections and near-surface vector winds
Terra (EOS-AM)	18 December 1999	18 December 2005	Active	Vandenberg	multiple	Provide global data on the state of the atmosphere, land, and oceans
NMP/EO-1	21 November 2000		Active		NASA / GSFC	Demonstrate new technologies and strategies for improved Earth observations
Jason 1	7 December 2001		1 July 2013	Vandenberg	NASA / CNES	Provide information on ocean surface current velocity and heights
Meteor 3M-1/Sage III	10 December 2001		6 March 2006	Baikonur		Provide accurate, long-term measurements of ozone, aerosols, water vapor, and other key parameters of Earth's atmosphere
GRACE	17 March 2002		Active	Plesetsk Cosmodrome	NASA / DLR	Measure Earth's mean and time-variable gravity field
Aqua	4 May 2002	4 May 2008	Active	Vandenberg	multiple	Collect water information in the Earth system
ICESat	12 January 2003		14 August 2010	Vandenberg	NASA	Measuring ice sheet mass balance, cloud and aerosol heights, and land topography and vegetation characteristics
SORCE	25 January 2003		Active	Cape Canaveral	NASA	Improve our understanding of the Sun
Aura	15 July 2004	15 July 2010	Active	Vandenberg	multiple	Investigate questions about ozone trends, air-quality changes and their linkage to climate change
CloudSat	28 April 2006	28 April 2009	Active	Vandenberg	NASA	Provide the first direct, global survey of the vertical structure and overlap of cloud systems and their liquid and ice-water contents
CALIPSO	28 April 2006		Active	Vandenberg	NASA / CNES	Improve understanding of the role aerosols and clouds play in regulating the Earth’s climate
SMAP	31 January 2015	31 May 2018	Active	Vandenberg		Measure surface soil moisture and freeze-thaw state
OCO-2	2 July 2014	2 July 2019	Active	Vandenberg	NASA	Provide space-based global measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide
Aquarius	10 June 2011		17 June 2015 ^[1]	Vandenberg	NASA / CONAE	Map the spatial and temporal variations of sea surface salinity
Landsat 8	11 February 2013	11 February 2018	Active	Vandenberg	NASA / USGS	Supply the world with global land surface images