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PREFIRE

Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment

Active Mission

A mission designed for a pair of tiny satellites to measure a little-studied portion of the radiant energy emitted by Earth, for clues about sea ice loss, ice-sheet melting, and a warming Arctic – the region that behaves like our planet’s thermostat, as it regulates the climate by venting excess energy received in the tropics.

Type

CubeSat

Launch

May 2024

Target

Earth

Objective

Study Arctic Heat Emissions
Learn more about PREFIRE

PREFIRE Stories
Amendment 19: A.2 Earth Venture: TROPICS and PREFIRE Science and Applications Teams Step-2 Proposal Due Date Reset to January 13, 2026.
1 min read

ROSES-2025 Amendment 19 resets the step-2 proposal due date for A.2 Earth Venture: TROPICS and PREFIRE Science and Applications Teams,…

Nov 17, 2025
Topic
NASA’s PREFIRE CubeSat Mission Extended
4 min read

The twin cube satellites will operate through at least September 2026, expanding focus from the poles to the whole planet…

Aug 15, 2025
Blog
Amendment 108: A.60 Ecological Conservation Cost Share Removed and Other Small Changes.
2 min read

A.60 Ecological Conservation supports the integration of NASA Earth observations in decision making within the domain of ecological conservation and…

Jan 23, 2025
Topic
NASA Mission Gets Its First Snapshot of Polar Heat Emissions
5 min read

The PREFIRE mission will help develop a more detailed understanding of how much heat the Arctic and Antarctica radiate into…

Sep 3, 2024
Article
Amendment 45: New Opportunity: A.60 Ecological Conservation
2 min read

A.60 Ecological Conservation supports the integration of NASA Earth observations in decision making within the domain of ecological conservation and…

Aug 30, 2024
Topic
NASA Launches Second Small Climate Satellite to Study Earth’s Poles
4 min read

Editor’s note: This release was updated June 6, 2024, to correct the launch time in the photo caption. The second…

Jun 5, 2024
News Release
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