TOMS-EP
TOMS-EP is the third mission in NASA's TOMS program, which provides long-term observations of the global distribution of the Earth's ozone layer and measurements of sulfur-dioxide released in volcanic eruptions. Previous versions of the spacecraft's TOMS instrument were launched aboard the Nimbus-7 (1978) and Soviet Meteor-3 (1991) satellites. These instruments provided detailed maps of the world's global atmospheric ozone distribution, and observed the Antarctic "ozone hole" which forms September through November of each year. TOMS-EP will add to the data set collected by these missions, and will be followed by other TOMS instruments carried aboard the ADEOS (1996) and Russian Meteor-3M satellite (2000). Originally intended for launch in 1994, TOMS-EP was delayed by the failures of the first two Pegasus XL launch vehicles. As a result of this delay, TOMS-EP will now fly simultaneously with the ADEOS TOMS instrument (originally planned as TOMS-EP's successor). To prevent the gathering of redundant data sets, TOMS-EP was placed into an orbit lower than origianlly planned to obtain higher resolution measurements. The two instruments working at different altitudes will enhance data collection by affording a more reliable separation of stratospheric ozone from tropospheric ozone, improving detection of urban pollution and other small-scale features, and allowing comparison of ozone data from cloudy and clear atmospheres. Together, TOMS-EP and ADEOS will provide full daily global coverage of ozone measurements. The TOMS program is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, a long term, coordinated research effort to study the Earth as a global environmental system. Spacecraft
Payload
Launch Facts
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