Scientific Satellites

The first satellite launched by the United States, in 1958, whose radiation detector discovered the Van Allen radiation belts. Built by JPL and launched by the U.S. Army — NASA did not yet exist.

A twin-satellite mission that mapped tiny variations in Earth's gravity field to track the movement of water, ice, and mass around the planet.

A NASA mission carrying a cloud-profiling radar that measured the vertical structure of clouds to study their role in climate.

A NASA–CNES mission using a space lidar to profile aerosols and thin clouds in Earth's atmosphere, flying in the A-Train formation.

A NASA mission mapping the moisture in Earth's surface soil to improve weather and climate models and monitor drought and floods.

The follow-on mission to GRACE, continuing the record of Earth's changing gravity field and the redistribution of water and ice.