Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox spacecraft instrument | Name = Aquarius | Image = [[Image:Aquarius SAC-D satellite.png|240 px|]] | Caption = Artist's concept of the SAC-D satellite | Operator = [[NASA]] | Manufacturer = | Type = [[Radiometer]] | Function = [[Oceanography]] | Mission_Duration = 3 years | Began = | Ceased = | Webpage = [http://aquarius.nasa.gov/index.html Aquarius Mission] | Mass = | Dimensions = | Number = <!--number launched--> | Power_consumption = | Resolution = | Spectral_Band = | Data_Rate = | Spacecraft = [[SAC-D]] | SC_Operator = [[CONAE]] | Launch = 10 June 2011<br/>14:20 UTC | Rocket = [[Delta II]] | Launch_Site = [[Vandenberg Air Force Base|Vandenberg]] [[Vandenberg AFB Space Launch Complex 2|SLC-2W]] | COSPAR = | Orbit = [[Low Earth orbit|LEO]] | Decay = }} '''Aquarius''' is a [[NASA]] instrument aboard the [[Argentina|Argentine]] [[SAC-D]] spacecraft.<ref name="instruments">{{cite web|url=http://www.conae.gov.ar/eng/satelites/sac-d_instrum.html|title=Aquarius/SAC-D Instruments|publisher=CONAE|accessdate=2010-01-06}}</ref> Its mission is to measure global sea surface [[salinity]] to better predict future [[climate]] conditions.<ref name="overview">{{cite web|url=http://aquarius.nasa.gov/overview-mission.html|title=Aquarius Mission Overview|last=NASA [[Goddard Space Flight Center]]|date=June 1, 2009|publisher=NASA|accessdate=June 2, 2009}}</ref> The observatory was successfully launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on June 10, 2011. The science instruments include a set of three [[radiometers]] that are sensitive to salinity (1.413&nbsp;GHz; L-band) and a [[scatterometer]] that corrects for the ocean's surface roughness.<ref name="overview"/> The SAC-D spacecraft is operated by [[Argentina]]'s [[Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales]] (CONAE). After its launch aboard a [[Delta II]] from [[Vandenberg Air Force Base]] in [[California]], SAC-D was carried into a 657&nbsp;km (408&nbsp;mi) [[sun-synchronous orbit]] to begin its 3-year mission.<ref name="overview"/> Aquarius was shipped to Argentina on June 1, 2009 to be mounted in the [[INVAP]] built SAC-D satellite<ref name="ships">{{cite web|url=http://climate.jpl.nasa.gov/news/index.cfm?FuseAction=ShowNews&NewsID=70|title=Salt-seeking ocean sensor to ship south|last=NASA JPL|date=June 1, 2009|publisher=NASA|accessdate=June 2, 2009}}</ref> It came back to Vandenberg Air Force Base on March 31, 2011<ref name="return">{{cite web|url=http://aquarius.nasa.gov/news-status.html|title=Aquarius Space Craft Return to US|date=March 31, 2011|publisher=NASA|accessdate=May 11, 2011}}</ref>. For the joint mission, Argentina is providing the SAC-D spacecraft and additional science instruments, while NASA provides the Aquarius salinity sensor and the rocket launch. NASA's [[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] in Pasadena, California, manages the Aquarius Mission development for NASA's Earth Science Enterprise based in Washington, D.C., and NASA's Goddard Spaceflight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, will manage the mission after launch.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.esr.org/aquarius_sat/aquarius_main.html| title = Aquarius / SAC-D Satellite Mission | publisher = Earth & Space Research (ESR)}}</ref> After less thatn one month in operation, Aquarius produced the first map showing the varying degrees of salinity across the ocean's surface. NASA says Aquarius will capture in three years as much data as those earlier methods did in 125 years. Aquarius fills the last major gap in measuring the ocean from space by measuring its salt content.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earthinstitute.columbia.edu/articles/view/2893|work=Earth Institute}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://aquarius.nasa.gov/index.html Aquarius Mission Web Site] *[http://science.hq.nasa.gov/missions/satellite_59.htm NASA webpage] *[http://aquarius.nasa.gov/ Goddard Space Flight Center webpage] *[http://solarsystem.nasa.gov/missions/profile.cfm?MCode=AQUARIUS Aquarius Mission Profile] by [http://solarsystem.nasa.gov NASA's Solar System Exploration] {{Space-based meteorological observation}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Aquarius (Satellite)}} [[Category:2011 in spaceflight]] [[Category:Oceanography]] [[Category:Spacecraft instruments]] {{Spacecraft-stub}} [[eu:Aquarius (satelitea)]] [[hu:Aquarius (műhold)]] [[nl:Aquarius (instrument)]]'