Description:

NOAA has Congressional mandates to forecast and monitor atmospheric composition, and has several satellites in orbit which provide air quality and greenhouse gas products, such as aerosol optical depth, NO2, ozone, methane, formaldehyde and others. NOAA’s plans for the next generation of its geostationary satellites - GeoXO - include for the first time a dedicated atmospheric composition instrument, ACX. Preparations for the future space-borne atmospheric composition capabilities at NOAA provide an opportunity to take stock of current satellite assets - JPSS and GOES, and describe trace gas and aerosol products they provide. This town hall will include an overview of these capabilities, as well as a brief status update for GeoXO, and plans for NEON, a polar orbiting follow-on to JPSS (with expected first launch in 2040s). Q&A will follow. The Town Hall will feature several speakers who can comment on both NOAA’s future constellation plans as well as the details of current satellite products.