Recent News

TEMPO NO2 Image over CONUS on 3/28/2024

May 30, 2024

TEMPO Instrument Air Quality Data Now Publicly Available

Valuable air quality collected by the TEMPO mission is now being released to the public.


TEMPO NO2 Image over Texas on 3/28/2024

May 30, 2024

NASA Releases New High-Quality, Near Real-Time Air Quality Data

NASA has made new data available that can provide air pollution observations at unprecedented resolutions – down to the scale of individual neighborhoods.


TEMPO NO2 image over Pearmian Basin on 3/28/2024

May 30, 2024

TEMPO Mission Releases Beta Level 1, 2, and 3 Version 03 Data Products

The beta release of Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) mission data products lets users begin developing applications using these data.


TEMPO RGB image & L1 spectra

February 27, 2024

New TEMPO Beta Level 1 Data Products

These new Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) products will aid validation efforts and algorithm development, and will be used to expand the mission’s higher-level products.


TEMPO first light NO2 image over California

February 5, 2024

Sample of Preliminary, Unvalidated TEMPO Data Products Now Available on Earthdata Search

To help users become familiar with TEMPO data products, the ASDC is releasing two weeks of preliminary, unvalidated TEMPO observations obtained during nominal operations from December 17-30, 2023, and eight days of commissioning observations, including first light, obtained during August 2023.


TEMPO first light NO2 image over Texas

January 11, 2024

New Instrument Provides Hourly Measurements of Atmospheric Pollutants

NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of POllution (TEMPO) instrument will revolutionize air quality monitoring over North America.


TEMPO first light NO2 over New York

August 24, 2023

TEMPO Instrument Captures Its First Images of Air Pollution Over Greater North America

TEMPO is the first space-based probe to measure air pollution hourly over North America at neighborhood scale.


NASA Shares First Images from US Pollution-Monitoring Instrument

August 24, 2023

NASA Shares First Images from US Pollution-Monitoring Instrument

From its orbit 22,000 miles above the equator, NASA’s TEMPO, or Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, is the first space-based instrument designed to continuously measure air quality above North America with the resolution of a few square miles.


TEMPO Instrument Arrives Safely in Florida

June 07, 2023

TEMPO Powers Up!

Two months after launch, following the successful testing of its Maxar built host satellite Intelsat 40e, NASA’s TEMPO (short for Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution) air quality instrument has been turned on for the first time.


TEMPO Instrument Launched on board IS-40e

April 07, 2023

Liftoff! TEMPO Instrument Soars into Space

Cape Canaveral, FL – On Friday, April 7 at 12:30 a.m. ET, the motors of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket rumbled to life and ignited, lighting up the otherwise dark morning sky. The rocket blasted off from launch pad 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Its mission: to carry the satellite, Intelsat 40e — host of the NASA-Smithsonian instrument TEMPO — into space.


TEMPO Instrument Launched on board IS-40e

April 07, 2023

NASA’s High-Resolution Air Quality Control Instrument Launches

A NASA instrument to provide unprecedented resolution of monitoring major air pollutants – down to four square miles – lifted off on its way to geostationary orbit at 12:30 a.m. EDT Friday.


TEMPO Instrument Arrives Safely in Florida

April 5, 2023

TEMPO Scheduled for Launch

SpaceX is targeting Friday, April 7 for launch of the Intelsat IS-40e mission to a geosynchronous transfer orbit from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The 119-minute launch window opens at 12:30 a.m. ET (04:30 UTC). If needed, a backup opportunity is available on Saturday, April 8 with a 119-minute window opening at 12:29 a.m. ET (04:29 UTC).


TEMPO Instrument Arrives Safely in Florida

March 31, 2023

NASA Media Call on Upcoming Air Quality Satellite Launch

Media are invited to participate in a teleconference discussing the upcoming launch of TEMPO on Wednesday, April 5. TEMPO will soon provide the first-ever hourly scans of air pollution over greater North America.


TEMPO Instrument Arrives Safely in Florida

March 22, 2023

TEMPO Instrument Arrives Safely in Florida

The satellite host of NASA's Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument recently arrived by aircraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center ahead of its launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in early April.


The TEMPO air pollution sensor is hosted on Intelsat 40e, seen here at the Maxar Technologies facility in Palo Alto, California, where it was built.

March 08, 2023

Media Advisory: New Space Instrument To Deliver Near Real-Time Air Pollution Data

On Tuesday, March 14, NASA and the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian will host a mission and program briefing for the new, space-based instrument TEMPO, which will soon deliver detailed data and analysis of air pollution over greater North America.


The TEMPO air pollution sensor is hosted on Intelsat 40e, seen here at the Maxar Technologies facility in Palo Alto, California, where it was built.

February 27, 2023

Air Pollution Sensor Integrated and Tested with Commercial Satellite Host

On February 27, 2023, the TEMPO instrument and entire spacecraft successfully passed pre-launch testing at Maxar's facility in Palo Alto, California.


TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Books A Ride To Space

December 16, 2022

A Leading Light in Atmospheric Science

Delivering major new insights in the fight against climate change, the TEMPO mission will be a capstone to Kelly Chance’s career, which has focused on advancing the power of spectroscopy to study Earth’s atmosphere.


TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Books A Ride To Space

July 5, 2022

TEMPO Air Pollution Instrument Completes Satellite Integration

The TEMPO instrument has been fully integrated onto its host satellite, bringing it one step closer to launch.


TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Books A Ride To Space

July 14, 2021

First major system integration complete

The TEMPO Instrument includes two major systems: Instrument Control Electronics (ICE) and Sensor. The TEMPO ICE mechanical integration onto the Intelsat 40e spacecraft was successfully completed at Maxar on Wednesday, July 14th.


TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Books A Ride To Space

May 21, 2021

TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Treks Toward Satellite Integration

The TEMPO instrument will soon be integrated onto a satellite and tested to ensure that it can survive the space environment. TEMPO shipped from Ball Aerospace in Broomfield, Colorado, to Maxar Technologies' satellite manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California.


TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Books A Ride To Space

March 18, 2020

NASA's TEMPO Satellite Host Named

>The TEMPO instrument, a NASA satellite instrument lead by Principal Investigator Kelly Chance from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, will launch to orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle. The launch is planned for 2022.


TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Books A Ride To Space

Feb. 3, 2020

NASA's TEMPO Satellite Host Named

Maxar Technologies and Intelsat recently agreed to partner to host NASA’s TEMPO instrument onboard the Intelsat 40e mission. In 2019, NASA selected Maxar to host the TEMPO instrument utilizing the U.S. Air Force Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS) contract vehicle. Intelsat 40e is based on Maxar's 1300-class satellite platform and will provide commercial satellite communications for Intelsat customers in North and Central America. The satellite is scheduled to launch into geostationary orbit 22,236 miles above Earth's equator in 2022.


TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Books A Ride To Space

July 22, 2019

TEMPO Air Pollution Sensor Books A Ride To Space

NASA has secured a host satellite provider and ride into space for an instrument that will dramatically advance our understanding of air quality over North America. Maxar Technologies of Westminster, Colorado, will provide satellite integration, launch and data transmission services for TEMPO, an Earth science instrument that will observe air pollution over North America in unprecedented detail from a geostationary orbit.
A contract with Maxar was awarded by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center through its Hosted Payload Solutions contract.


The TEMPO Satellite Hosting Services

Dec 07, 2018

NASA’s TEMPO Instrument Successfully Completes Development

An Earth science space instrument that will measure air pollution over North America has successfully completed development by Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colorado and has been formally accepted by NASA.
NASA has taken over ownership of the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, or TEMPO, flight hardware, but the instrument will remain in storage at Ball while a host spacecraft is selected.


While awaiting a ride on a host commercial spacecraft, the TEMPO instrument will be kept in a cleanroom storage area at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colorado.
Credit: Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp.


The TEMPO instrument

May 31, 2018

NASA’s TEMPO Requests Proposals for Satellite Hosting Services

The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument will make observations from a geostationary vantage point, about 22,000 miles above Earth's equator, flying on a commercial satellite.To accomplish this, TEMPO has partnered with the U.S. Air Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center in El Segundo, California, and will employ their Hosted Payload Solutions (HoPS) contract. Proposals have been requested from the 11 commercial companies associated with the HoPS contract.


The TEMPO instrument

Sept. 21, 2017

TEMPO completes spectrometer testing and verification

"The completion of characterization and calibration of the TEMPO spectrometer is a critical milestone in the development of our fundamental atmospheric pollution mission, which is a result of collaboration among Ball Aerospace, NASA's Langley Research Center, and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory" said Kelly Chance, TEMPO Principal Investigator, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. "Together, we are all looking forward to the next steps on the way to providing hourly atmospheric pollution measurements for greater North America."


May 4, 2016

TEMPO Instrument Passes Critical Design Reviews

TEMPO has now passed the Critical Design Reviews for the instrument (June 24-25 at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, CO) and the Ground System (May 3-4 at SAO in Cambridge, MA). The instrument is well on the way to being fabricated and characterized by Ball, with an expected completion and delivery date in mid calendar year 2017. The Ground System, consisting of the Instrument Operations Center and the Science Data Processing Center, located at SAO, will be completed and fully operational in time for the earliest possible launch date, November 2018.


May 6, 2015

TEMPO POLLUTION MONITORING INSTRUMENT PASSES CRITICAL NASA REVIEW

It was confirmed by NASA's Science Mission Directorate to continue into Phase C of the project, in which the team completes the design that meets science and measurement requirements, fabricates the instrument, and develops the ground system.


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