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GRACE Satellite Testing

The GRACE satellites are seen at an IABG testing facility in Germany.

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Earth's gravity from space
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Earth's gravity from space
Earth's gravity from space
This visualization shows extremes of the water cycle — droughts and pluvials — over a twenty-year period (2002-2021) based on observations from the GRACE and GRACE-FO satellites. Dry events are sho...
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This visualization shows extremes of the water cycle — droughts and pluvials — over a twenty-year period (2002-2021) based on observations from the GRACE and GRACE-FO satellites. Dry events are shown as red spheres and wet events as blue spheres, with earlier years being shown as lighter shades and later years as darker shades. The volume of the sphere is proportional to the intensity of the event, a quantity measured in cubic kilometer months. A total of 1,056 extreme wet and dry events appear over the course of the visualization. The plots at the bottom of the figure show that the total intensity of extreme events increased as global temperatures increased. The most intense event was a 2019 pluvial (excessive, persistent rain) in central Africa. In a study of 20 years of data from the NASA/German GRACE and GRACE-FO satellites, two NASA scientists confirmed that major droughts and pluvials — periods of excessive precipitation and water storage on the landscape — have been occurring more often. They also found that the worldwide intensity of these extreme wet and dry events – a metric that combines extent, duration, and severity — is closely linked to global warming. Floods and droughts account for more than 20% of the economic losses caused by extreme weather events in the U.S. each year, ranked second after hurricanes among major disasters. The economic impacts are similar around the world, though the human toll tends to be most devastating in poor and developing nations. From 2015-2021 — seven of the warmest years in the modern record — the frequency of extreme wet and dry events was four per year, compared with three per year in the previous 13 years. This makes sense, say the authors, because warmer air causes more moisture to evaporate from Earth's surface during dry events; warm air can also hold more moisture to fuel severe snow- and rainfall events.
Water Cycle Extremes: Droughts and Pluvials
GRACE on orbit
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GRACE on orbit
GRACE on orbit
These images show the changes in gravity anomalies from GRACE over the Amazon Basin for each month of 2004. 
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Amazon Basin seasonal hydrology
Amazon Basin seasonal hydrology
The twin GRACE satellites are seen in a clean room in Germany in 2002.
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Two satellites are seen next to each other.
GRACE Satellites in Clean Room
GRACE mission pre-launch poster
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GRACE mission pre-launch poster
GRACE mission pre-launch poster
Twin GRACE spacecraft being deployed from Breeze
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Twin GRACE spacecraft being deployed from Breeze
Twin GRACE spacecraft being deployed from Breeze
One of the twin GRACE satellites, Flight Model 1, is seen on a trolley during construction in Germany.
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Empty shell of GRACE satellite during construction.
GRACE Satellite Under Construction
Zoom in to view GRACE flying over Greenland.
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GRACE Greenland flyover
Greenland flyover by GRACE
This visualization of a gravity model was created with data from NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and shows variations in Earth’s gravity field.
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GRACE global gravity animation
GRACE global gravity animation
One of the twin GRACE spacecraft is seen during construction in Germany.
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One of the twin GRACE spacecraft is seen during construction in Germany.
GRACE Satellite Build
GRACE satellites are mounted belly to belly at an IABG testing facility in Germany.
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GRACE satellites are mounted belly to belly at an IABG testing facility in Germany.
GRACE Satellites at IABG
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space exhibit
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Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space exhibit
Measuring Earth's Gravity from Space exhibit
GRACE being readied for launch - 1
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GRACE being readied for launch - 1
GRACE being readied for launch - 1
The GRACE Intermediate Field 48 (GIF48 from UT-CSR) field model is an improved mean gravity field that combines GRACE observations with terrestrial and ocean gravity information for the small-scale...
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The GRACE Intermediate Field 48 (GIF48 from UT-CSR) field model is an improved mean gravity field that combines GRACE observations and terrestrial gravity information The terrestrial gravity information was taken from the DTU10 global gravity field. Shown here are the so-called free air gravity deviations from an ideal ellipsoidal Earth model, in units of milli-gal. Areas colored yellow, orange, or red are areas where the actual gravity field is larger than the featureless-Earth model predicts, while the progressively darker shades of blue indicate places where the gravity field is less.
Static gravity field - anomalies (1)
This animation shows the annual water storage changes over the U.S. from GRACE from 2003 - 2013.
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Annual water storage changes over the U.S. From GRACE
Annual water storage changes over the U.S. From GRACE
The original GRACE satellites in a clean room in Germany.
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Two GRACE satellites are next to each other in a clean room.
GRACE Satellites Under Construction
The amount of water stored in the Amazon basin varies from month to month, and can be monitored from space by looking at how it alters Earth's gravity field.
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Measuring Water Storage in the Amazon
Measuring Water Storage in the Amazon
GRACE logo
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GRACE logo
GRACE logo
This image shows the mean annual amplitude of total water storage on Earth in 2007 as measured by GRACE.
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Total water storage from GRACE, 2007
Total water storage from GRACE, 2007
GRACE on orbit - 1
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GRACE on orbit - 1
GRACE on orbit - 1
GRACE being readied for launch - 2
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GRACE being readied for launch - 2
GRACE being readied for launch - 2
One of the GRACE satellites undergoes thermal testing at IABG in Germany.
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Light shines on a GRACE satellite seen in a thermal chamber at IABG.
Thermal Testing for GRACE Satellite
This animation illustrates the movements of the two GRACE-FO satellites as they orbit Earth.
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This animation illustrates the movements of the two GRACE-FO satellites as they orbit Earth. As the satellites pass over topographic or mass anomaly features, the relative distance between the satellites changes. This distance change is precisely tracked with the two ranging interferometers: the Microwave Instrument (MWI), as well as the technology-demonstration Laser Ranging Instrument (LRI). Every 30 days, the polar-orbiting satellites gather enough data to derive a global map of the surface mass distribution. The differences in this mass distribution from one month to the next provide fundamental indicators of the large-scale dynamics of the planet as mass (mostly in the form of water) is constantly redistributed within and between Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, groundwater and ice sheets. Since 2018, GRACE Follow-On (GRACE-FO) continues the legacy of GRACE (2002-2017), tracking Earth’s water movement and surface mass changes across the planet. Monitoring changes in ice sheets and glaciers, near-surface and underground water storage, the amount of water in large lakes and rivers, as well as changes in sea level and ocean currents provides an integrated global view of how Earth’s water cycle and energy balance are evolving—measurements that have important applications for everyday life.
GRACE-FO: from range observations to global mass change
The GRACE satellites during component integration in a German clean room.
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The GRACE satellites are shown without solar panels during component integration in a German clean room.
GRACE Component Integration

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