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Changing View Of Earth's Gravitational Forces Recognized With Award

Date:
December 12, 2007
Source:
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Summary:
A mission that has changed the way we study Earth's gravitational forces has been recognized with a prestigious award for helping scientists better understand our home planet. NASA and the U.S. Department of the Interior presented the coveted William T. Pecora Award to the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) mission team.
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A mission that has changed the way we study Earth's gravitational forces has been recognized with an award for helping scientists better understand our home planet. NASA and the U.S. Department of the Interior presented the coveted William T. Pecora Award to the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (Grace) mission team.

The two agencies present individual and group Pecora Awards annually to honor outstanding contributions in the field of remote sensing and its application to understanding Earth. The award was established in 1974 to honor the memory of William T. Pecora, former director of the U.S. Geological Survey and under secretary of the Department of the Interior.

The Grace mission uses twin satellites to make precise gravity-field measurements to study changes on Earth. Signal achievements include the first uniform measurement of Greenland and Antarctic ice mass changes and monthly estimates of water accumulation in the world's river basins.

"We congratulate the Grace team for its great achievements, which are testaments to the leadership, vision and creativity of each team member," said Alan Stern, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington.

Stern presented the award to the Grace team Monday, Dec. 10, at the American Geophysical Union fall meeting in San Francisco. Jim Devine, senior advisor for science applications at the U.S. Geological Survey, represented the Department of the Interior at the award presentation.

Grace is a collaborative endeavor involving the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas, Austin; NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.; the German Space Agency and Germany's National Research Center for Geosciences, Potsdam.


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Materials provided by NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Changing View Of Earth's Gravitational Forces Recognized With Award." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 December 2007. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071211235842.htm>.
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. (2007, December 12). Changing View Of Earth's Gravitational Forces Recognized With Award. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071211235842.htm
NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Changing View Of Earth's Gravitational Forces Recognized With Award." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071211235842.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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