NASA's Terra spacecraft awaits installation of the instruments that will collect data for continuous records of the state of Earth's land oceans and atmosphere.

NASA's Terra spacecraft awaits installation of the instruments that will collect data for continuous, long-term records of the state of Earth's land, oceans and atmosphere. Terra is expected to be launched aboard a Lockheed Martin Atlas IIAS rocket Dec. 16 from Space Launch Complex 3 East at Vandenberg AFB, Calif. Terra comprises five state-of-the-art sets of instruments that, together with data from other satellite systems launched by NASA and other countries, will inaugurate a new self-consistent data record that will be gathered over the next 15 years. From an altitude of 438 miles, Terra will circle the Earth 16 times a day from pole to pole (98 degree inclination), crossing the equator at 10:30 a.m. The five Terra instruments will operate by measuring sunlight reflected by the Earth and heat emitted by the Earth