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Here's a riddle for you. What is the size and weight of a full-grown Indian

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elephant, flies faster than a speeding bullet, and 

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has been enormously helpful to the world's most distinguished space administration? 

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Why, the Terra satellite of course! The wildly 

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successful Terra satellite has gathered a staggering amount of data about Earth's land,

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atmosphere, and water. This data allows scientists to make great strides in 

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understanding Earth's systems and the way they interact. 

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In the early '90s, NASA scientists had limited means of tracking global trends 

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in quantities such as temperature, pollution, and weather

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patterns. Then came the revolutionary creation of Terra, 

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which provided a means to acquire and map more types of data, simultaneously 

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and in more detail than ever before. 

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The satellite was launched on December 18th, 1999 from Vandenberg Air 

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Force Base in California, and began collecting data about two months later. 

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Terra was only expected to operate in orbit for about six years, 

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but 15 years later, Terra has surpassed expectations. 

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Terra gathers information through five instruments, each serving a unique 

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purpose. With these instruments working together, we have been able to see 

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Earth as a system. Terra's instruments allow us to look at the oceans, atmosphere,

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land, ice, and life all at once and to see the relationships between them. 

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The more data that Terra collects, the more valuable 

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it becomes. It's been so great that Terra had lasted more than the projected six years, 

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because this allows us to see longer-term and more subtle trends. 

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For example, in this 15-year time-span, we have been able to observe several 

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El Nino cycles, which typically take 5-7 years each, and to capture

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the full course of an 11-year solar cycle and see how it affects processes on Earth. 

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We've also been able to see events like the large Icelandic volcano eruption in 

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2010, which Terra wouldn't have been able to see if it had lasted only six years. 

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Terra has paved the way for subsequent

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Earth-observing missions, such as Aqua and Aura, and has started a lasting 

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legacy of understanding the planet on which we live. Assuming nothing breaks, 

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Terra is estimated to end its incredible journey around the year 2021.

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We hope you'll join us in toasting the satellite's 15 prosperous years. 

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Here's to the great strides NASA has made and to our rewarding future. 

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