Terra is under the NASA-led international Earth Observation System (EOS), a coordinated series of polar-orbiting and low inclination satellites for long-term global observations of the land surface, biosphere, solid Earth, atmosphere, and oceans. The main objective of the Terra mission is to explore the atmosphere, ocean, land, snow and ice, and energy budget with five instruments on-board the Terra Satellite to contribute to NASA's six broad focus areas:

• Climate Variability and Change
• Atmospheric Composition
• Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems
• Water and Energy Cycle
• Weather
• Earth Surface and Interior

The satellite was launched on 18th December 1999, and the data collection for data products began in February 2000. Terra is a member of the Morning Constellation (the M-Train), a group of satellites following each other and pass the equator around 10:30 and 22:30. This allows instruments spread across the member satellites to record data on a specific point almost simultaneously.

Further information about the Earth Observation System and missions under it can be found in:

NASA EOS Site: Link

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