Goddard Missions

Future Missions

  • artist concept of Aquarius

    Aquarius  →

    Aquarius is a focused satellite mission to measure sea surface salinity (salt levels).

  • WMAP image of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation

    Big Bang Observer  →

    To explore the beginning of time, a "Big Bang Observer" will attempt to directly measure gravitons from the early universe still present today. The image at left comes from WMAP, which observed the Big Bang's "afterglow," the cosmic microwave background.

  • artist concept of a black hole

    Black Hole Imager  →

    The goal of the Black Hole Imager mission will be to calculate the aspects of matter that fall into a black hole.

  • artist concept of a Constellation X satellite

    Constellation-X  →

    The Constellation-X Observatory is a combination of several X-ray satellites orbiting in close proximity to each other and working in unison to generate the observing power of one giant telescope.

  • Albert Einstein

    Einstein Probes  →

    The Beyond Einstein program has three linked elements which will be designed to observe two phenomena: to detect directly gravitational wave signals from the earliest possible moments of the Big Bang, and to image the event horizon of a black hole.

  • artist concept of Glory

    Glory  →

    Glory will be the first mission dedicated to understanding the effects of aerosols and solar variability on climate.

  • artist concept of GOES

    GOES Missions  →

    GOES satellites provide a constant vigil for the atmospheric "triggers" for severe weather conditions such as tornadoes, flash floods, hail storms and hurricanes.

  • artist concept of GPM

    GPM  →

    The Global Precipitation Measurement mission is one of the next generation of satellite-based Earth science projects that will study global precipitation (rain, snow, ice) levels.

  • artist concept of JWST

    James Webb Space Telescope  →

    The James Webb Space Telescope is a large, infrared-optimized space telescope that is designed to study the earliest galaxies and some of the first stars formed after the Big Bang.

  • LDCM logo

    LDCM  →

    The Landsat Data Continuity Mission is the future of Landsat satellites. It will continue to obtain valuable data and Earth imagery to be used in agriculture, education, business, science and government.

  • artist concept of LISA probes

    LISA  →

    As the first dedicated space-based gravitational wave observatory, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna will detect waves generated by binary stars within our galaxy and by massive black holes in distant galaxies.

  • artist concept of NPP

    NPP  →

    The NPOESS Preparatory Project Mission is designed to function as a bridge between the NASA EOS program and NPOESS for the development of Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).

  • Artist concept of SDO

    SDO

    The Solar Dynamics Observatory will further our understanding of the sun's influence on Earth and near-Earth space by studying the solar atmosphere on small scales of space and time, and in many wavelengths simultaneously.

  • artist concept of TDRS

    TDRS (A through J)  →

    The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System consists of a constellation of geosynchronous satellites and associated ground systems that operate as a bent-pipe relay system between customer platforms and customer ground facilities. Future TDRS satellites will help replenish the fleet.