1 00:00:22,050 --> 00:00:11,020 [music playing] 2 00:00:22,070 --> 00:00:26,090 [Narrator] Earth’s climate is changing at an unprecedented rate. 3 00:00:26,110 --> 00:00:31,100 As the planet heats up, researchers are developing new tools to help them 4 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:36,120 understand the complexity of global warming. 5 00:00:36,140 --> 00:00:40,120 A new NASA mission named Glory is on the horizon. 6 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:47,130 It’s goal is to gather critical data on some of the least understood aspects of climate change. 7 00:00:47,150 --> 00:00:54,140 [Judith Lean] The compelling question about climate change that we would like to understand, 8 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:58,150 as a community really, and certainly as a science community 9 00:00:58,170 --> 00:01:03,160 is how and why the Earth’s climate changes. 10 00:01:03,180 --> 00:01:09,170 The forcing that people are most familiar with is the increase in greenhouse gases, 11 00:01:09,190 --> 00:01:15,170 especially carbon dioxide. But there are multiple other forcings as well. 12 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:20,180 One of the big uncertainties in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 13 00:01:20,200 --> 00:01:23,190 report is the effect of aerosols. 14 00:01:23,210 --> 00:01:26,200 [Brian Cairns] Greenhouse gases we know really well. The aerosols 15 00:01:26,220 --> 00:01:32,230 we really don’t know very well at all. 16 00:01:32,250 --> 00:01:36,250 [Narrator] Aerosols are suspended throughout Earth’s atmosphere. 17 00:01:36,270 --> 00:01:42,280 The particles are short-lived, highly variable, and difficult to study. 18 00:01:42,300 --> 00:01:47,310 [James Hansen] The big thing about Glory is it will finally make aerosol measurements 19 00:01:47,330 --> 00:01:52,350 with an accuracy that allows you to determine their role in climate change. 20 00:01:52,370 --> 00:01:58,380 [Judith Lean] Another big uncertainty in climate change is 21 00:01:58,400 --> 00:02:03,420 :‘what is the role of the Sun’s variations.’ The Sun is our energy source. 22 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:08,420 If we turn off the Sun, we have nothing left. So, we need to know how our energy source varies. 23 00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:13,430 [Narrator] A team of scientists and engineers have developed a unique mission 24 00:02:13,450 --> 00:02:18,450 that addresses these complex climate forcings. 25 00:02:18,460 --> 00:02:25,470 [Bryan Fafaul] Glory is a critical part of NASA’s climate research program. 26 00:02:25,490 --> 00:02:31,500 Glory has two primary scientific instruments. APS, the aerosol instrument, 27 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:37,520 will help us understand the chemical properties, the physical properties, 28 00:02:37,550 --> 00:02:41,560 and the global distribution of aerosols within the Earth’s atmosphere. 29 00:02:41,580 --> 00:02:46,590 And a solar instrument called TIM, which will continue a 28-year measurement 30 00:02:46,610 --> 00:02:49,600 of the solar radiation. 31 00:02:49,620 --> 00:02:53,610 [John Satrom] Those two instruments together, while they’re very different missions, 32 00:02:53,630 --> 00:02:57,610 both have an impact on the global climate model and climate change. 33 00:02:57,630 --> 00:03:01,610 [music playing] 34 00:03:01,630 --> 00:03:06,620 [Narrator] Glory’s Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor, or APS, will enable researchers to monitor 35 00:03:06,640 --> 00:03:11,620 aerosol particles from a space-based perspective. 36 00:03:11,640 --> 00:03:14,630 [Michael Mishchenko] We need to study the distribution of particles globally, 37 00:03:14,650 --> 00:03:18,640 and the only way to do that is from a satellite. 38 00:03:18,660 --> 00:03:23,650 [Brian Cairns] The purpose of Glory APS is to provide a good estimate of 39 00:03:23,670 --> 00:03:28,650 the amount the aerosols reflect and absorb sunlight, 40 00:03:28,670 --> 00:03:34,660 so that we understand how the aerosols are affecting the climate that we live in. 41 00:03:34,670 --> 00:03:40,660 [James Hansen] The data from Glory is primarily for the purpose of telling us what the 42 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:46,670 mechanisms are that force the climate models; how aerosols are changing 43 00:03:46,690 --> 00:03:52,680 and how clouds are changing because of aerosols. 44 00:03:52,700 --> 00:03:57,680 [Judith Lean] The second instrument will address how and why the Sun’s radiation varies. 45 00:03:57,700 --> 00:04:00,690 [John Satrom] The mission of the TIM instrument is to keep an eye on the Sun 46 00:04:00,700 --> 00:04:04,700 and the solar irradiance level that’s impacting Earth’s atmosphere. 47 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:08,700 Going back to the global climate model, when you think about the Earth, one of the largest 48 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:12,710 sources of climate forcing is the Sun and the Sun’s impact on the Earth. 49 00:04:12,730 --> 00:04:16,720 [Judith Lean] The Total Irradiance Monitor on Glory looks at the Sun 50 00:04:16,740 --> 00:04:20,730 and measures all that incoming energy. 51 00:04:20,750 --> 00:04:24,730 We have recognized that we need to know and monitor the forcings 52 00:04:24,750 --> 00:04:28,740 of climate change over a long period. 53 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:35,750 The TIM measurement is crucial in continuing this record of the Sun’s radiation 54 00:04:35,770 --> 00:04:39,760 that we now have covering almost three solar cycles. 55 00:04:39,780 --> 00:04:46,770 So, Glory is poised to give us new understanding of the magnitude of those forcings 56 00:04:46,780 --> 00:04:49,770 and how it effects climate. 57 00:04:49,790 --> 00:04:52,790 [Narrator] Glory will join a fleet of Earth observing satellites 58 00:04:52,810 --> 00:04:56,800 known as the afternoon constellation, or A-Train. 59 00:04:56,820 --> 00:05:01,810 [John Satrom] Instruments that are on spacecraft are up there 24 hours a day recording data. 60 00:05:01,830 --> 00:05:04,830 We get incredibly large volumes of data off of these instruments. 61 00:05:04,840 --> 00:05:08,840 It gives you that ability to look at every inch of the planet, every 16 days, 62 00:05:08,860 --> 00:05:12,860 and you just, you can’t do that with anything on the ground. 63 00:05:38,890 --> 00:05:23,870 [music playing] 64 00:05:38,910 --> 00:05:44,910 [Narrator] The launch of the Glory mission signifies a new era of climate research. 65 00:05:44,930 --> 00:05:50,930 [music playing] 66 00:05:50,950 --> 00:05:54,940 [Narrator] Data from Glory will help researchers understand the inner workings 67 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:58,950 of our home planet. 68 00:05:58,970 --> 00:06:02,970 [John Satrom] Glory is certainly, from my perspective, a very important program. 69 00:06:02,990 --> 00:06:06,980 It’s going to contribute to helping to fine tune the global climate model, 70 00:06:07,000 --> 00:06:11,000 and with the current emphasis on global climate change, 71 00:06:11,020 --> 00:06:15,020 the climate model is where we have to start first, so Glory is a key piece to that. 72 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:21,040 [Bryan Fafaul] Glory scientists will learn valuable information about the Earth’s climate, 73 00:06:21,070 --> 00:06:25,060 but more importantly it’s one more piece of the puzzle to help us 74 00:06:25,090 --> 00:06:29,090 understand the most important planet we know, and that’s Earth.