In 2014, NASA launched two new satellite missions that will enable fundamental advancements in our understanding of climate and global change. The Global Precipitation Measurement satellite, launched in February in collaboration with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), carries state-of-the-art instrumentation that will collect unparalleled observations of rain and snow worldwide every three hours. Such high-resolution data will improve forecasts of extreme weather and climate events, lead to a better understanding of the global water and energy cycles, and support predictions of freshwater availability. The GPM mission is already returning unprecedented observations, including recently captured measurements of Hurricane Arthur, the first hurricane of the 2014 season. To learn more, visit: http://go.usa.gov/NgWY

In July, NASA launched the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2), its first satellite dedicated to measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide from space. This new satellite mission will provide a global picture of human and natural sources of carbon dioxide, and will also help to quantify carbon dioxide sinks—places on Earth that naturally pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. OCO-2 will deliver a dramatic increase in the resolution of carbon dioxide observations, collecting hundreds of thousands of measurements each day. These measurements will be combined with data from ground stations, aircraft, and other satellites to help answer key questions about the global carbon cycle (see related Highlight 4) and how it interacts with climate change. To learn more, visit: http://go.usa.gov/NgWB