Global Precipitation Measurement

Global Precipitation Measurement, or GPM, is a joint satellite mission between JAXA and NASA, with other international space agencies, to observe Earth's rain and snow from orbit every two to three hours. It is part of NASA's Earth Systematic Missions program and builds on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission. The project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and centres on a Core Observatory satellite that measures the two and three dimensional structure of precipitation and acts as a calibration standard for a constellation of partner satellites. It launched from Tanegashima Space Center, Japan, on a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries H-IIA rocket on 28 February 2014 Japan time, which is 27 February in the United States.