TEMPO Team

TEMPO is NASA's first Earth Venture Instrument (EVI-1) awarded by NASA's Earth System Science Pathfinder (ESSP) Program in the Earth Venture Instrument Class Series. The TEMPO instrument project is a Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) PI-lead project with pre-launch and commissioning instrument project management at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). NASA also designated NASA LaRC to manage the TEMPO mission project, which involved finding the satellite host and launch vehicle for TEMPO. SAO took over instrument project management when TEMPO began nominal operations in October 2023.

The TEMPO Science Team is a collaboration of scientists from multiple U.S. and international organizations with extensive experience in measuring atmospheric composition from space. Members of the TEMPO Team include:

• Principal Investigator: Xiong Liu, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
• Emeritus Principal Investigator: Kelly Chance, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
• Instrument Project Management: SAO since 10/2023, NASA Langley Research Center before 10/2023
• Mission Project Management: NASA Langley Research Center
• Instrument Development: BAE Systems Inc., Space and Mission Systems (formerly Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation)
• Satellite Hosts: Intelsat, Maxar
• Other Science Team Institutions: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Harvard University, University of California, Berkeley, St. Louis University, University of Alabama Huntsville, University of Iowa, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, RT Solutions, Carr Astronautics
• International Collaboration: South Korea, Europe, Canada, Mexico
• TEMPO Early Adopters: An Early Adopter program was separately established in 2019 by NASA Applied Sciences Program to enhance interactions between the TEMPO Science Team and the community of stakeholders and end users. To learn more about this or become an Early Adopter, please check the TEMPO Early Adopters page.