BAE Systems has received a NASA Group Achievement Award at the NASA Langley Research Center 2023 Honor Awards Ceremony in Hampton, Virginia, that recognizes the team for their exemplary work on the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument.
The TEMPO team was selected for the award for their “outstanding performance in the integration, testing, launch, and commissioning of the TEMPO Instrument.”
TEMPO launched in April 2023 as a collaborative mission between NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, part of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, to improve remote air quality monitoring capabilities across greater North America.
The BAE Systems-built instrument uses an ultraviolet/visible spectrometer to scan across the continent and provide hourly, daytime measurements of key atmospheric pollutants such as ozone, nitrogen dioxide, and formaldehyde. The high resolution and frequency of readings are providing scientists and public health officials with precise data on the sources, concentration, and movement of pollution, which will help to enhance the detail and accuracy of air quality forecasts.
“We are honored to be selected for this distinguished award from our valued mission partners at NASA, which affirms the hard work and dedication our team put forward to make this ambitious project a reality,” said Dr. Alberto Conti, vice president and general manager of Civil Space for BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. “This award is not only a recognition of the quality of the instrument, but of the meaningful change it will help to bring to communities around North America moving forward.”
TEMPO’s near-real-time data can be viewed on the mission website: TEMPO Data for Public (si.edu)