First space-based instrument to monitor major air pollutants hourly

A new space-based instrument developed by Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory scientists will soon begin delivering detailed data and analysis of air pollution over greater North America.

Known as TEMPO, short for Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution, the instrument will be the first space-based device to observe major air pollutants hourly in high-spatial-resolution—down to four square miles—in a region that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Canadian oil sands to below Mexico City.

Launching aboard the Intelsat 40E communications satellite as early as April, TEMPO will observe major air pollutants in near real-time. This will allow scientists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and NASA to analyze and report emissions information faster and with more detail than ever before to the American public and those in Canada and Mexico as well.

The instrument was built by Ball Aerospace and integrated into the Intelsat 40E satellite by Maxar.