![]() TEMPO attached to a communications satellite. | |
Operator | NASA |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Ball Aerospace |
Instrument type | UV/Vis spectrometer |
Function | Atmospheric chemistry and pollution monitoring |
Began operations | 2023 (planned)[1][2] |
Website | tempo |
Properties | |
Resolution | 0.6 nm |
Spectral band | 290–740 nm (UV, Vis) |
Host spacecraft | |
Spacecraft | Intelsat 40e[3] |
Operator | Intelsat |
Launch date | 7 April 2023, 4:30:00 UTC |
Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 B1076.4 |
Launch site | Cape Canaveral, SLC-40 |
Orbit | Geostationary, 91° W |
Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) is a space-based spectrometer designed to measure air pollution across greater North America at a high resolution and on an hourly basis.[4][5] The ultraviolet–visible spectrometer will provide hourly data on ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde in the atmosphere.[6]
TEMPO is a hosted payload on a commercial geostationary communication satellite with a constant view of North America. TEMPO's spectrometer measures reflected sunlight from the Earth's atmosphere and separates it into 2,000 component wavelengths.[4] It will scan North America from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Alberta oil sands to Mexico City.[7] TEMPO will form part of a geostationary constellation of pollution-monitoring assets, along with the planned Sentinel-4 from ESA and Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) from South Korea's KARI.[8]
On 3 February 2020, Intelsat announced that the Intelsat 40e satellite will host TEMPO. Maxar Technologies, the builder of the satellite, is responsible for payload integration.[9][1][2] The launch occurred on 7 April 2023.[10]