Aqua

Earth science mission

NASA’s Aqua mission launched on May 4, 2002 to study Earth’s water cycle, including clouds, precipitation, water vapor and changes in oceans and ice.

Launch dateMay 4, 2002

FocusEarth’s water cycle

Catalog ID27424

Track this satellite

Following water around the planet

Aqua’s observations help scientists connect processes in the atmosphere, oceans and land. A satellite’s orbital position tells us where it is, but does not tell us whether a particular instrument is collecting usable data.

Explore the original science

NASA’s mission page provides instrument information, science results and mission updates. This profile separates mission history from the orbit estimate on our map.

Original mission source

NASA: Aqua

Mission history reviewed October 8, 2026. This page is a brief guide to the original records, not a live mission status feed.

Sources & dates

CelesTrak: Orbital elements and satellite identities
NASA SSCWeb: Selected mission trajectories
Launch Library 2: Community launch schedules; times can change
ESA: Dated space debris and environment statistics
SatNOGS: Community radio catalog; linked for further research

Positions are estimates. Source orbit time, last successful check and page changes have different meanings. SatNOGS and NASA links are research resources; this map uses CelesTrak orbital elements.