Optical Technology Division
NISTAR (NIST Advanced Radiometer): NISTAR was designed and built
by the Optical Technology Division and Ball Aerospace for the NASA Triana
mission that is being undertaken by the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. The
Scripps-NISTAR instrument package is composed of three cavity radiometers and
one photodiode channel designed to take advantage of Triana's location at the
Lagrange-1 point orbit (the Lagrange-1 is the neutral gravity point between the
Earth and the Sun -- 1.6 Gm from Earth). NISTAR will measure the energy
emitted and reflected by Earth, providing information adding to the global
climate model. Triana provides a unique vantage point from which to measure
both the reflected solar energy and the radiant power emitted by the sunlit
Earth. Triana is currently scheduled to launch in April 2002 aboard a NASA
Space Shuttle.
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