Built as a backup, now the duplicate copy of the Lightning Imaging Sensor is off to a two-year mission in space to measure the "amount, rate, and optical characteristics of lightning over Earth."
As a sequel to the success of the original LIS instrument launched in 1997, the backup is on its way to the International Space Station as a payload to the 10th SpaceX cargo resupply mission launched on Feb. 18. The original LIS was shut down after 17 years in collecting lightning which was part of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission.
The follow-on mission will "sample lightning over a wider geographical area," said Richard Blakeslee, science lead for the LIS at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
Wider Areas Of Observations Over Land And Sea
The original LIS was carried by TRMM satellite orbiting over locations on Earth between 35 degrees north latitude and 35 degrees south latitude. It generated data for the tropics but not so much toward the more temperate zones including the densely populated areas away from the equator.
Unlike the first LIS, the spare LIS will be mounted on the exterior of the orbiting lab which orbital inclination will allow the LIS to observe areas in Northern and Southern hemispheres for 24 hours.
Using the International Space Station for the mounting of LIS will enable to get real-time lightning data. This data can be used in weather forecasting, advisories, and warnings. The data are accessible to interested users worldwide in partnership with NASA's Short Term Prediction Research and Transition Center in Huntsville.
24/7 Eye On Space: Remote-Sensing Instrument To Study Weather, Climate
Atmospheric scientists were convened by NASA in 1979 to explore the possibility of using space-based lightning observations as a tool to study weather and climate. It paved the way for the development of LIS and launching of TRMM as the first mission documenting the global lightning climatology from space.
The LIS data will also be used in conjunction with other space-based weather instruments, such as the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, to generate date that will increase present knowledge on severe weather formation as well as in changes in lightning distributions.
GLM was recently launched on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES-16 satellite.
"The space-based vantage point allows us to observe all forms of lightning over land and sea, 24 hours a day," said Blakeslee.
The data from LIS will help explain the link between lightning and severe weather condition.
Weather scientists believe that proper understanding of the relationship between lightning and the accompanying severe weather holds the key to enhanced weather forecasting that will save lives and properties not only in the U.S. but also around the world.
