Education and public outreach program for GIFTS, the EO-3 new millennium mission

The Geostationary Imaging Fourier Transform Spectrometer (GIFTS) is the third Earth Orbiting mission (EO-3) selected in NASA's New Millennium Program (NMP). The GIFTS mission will test advanced technologies for measuring atmospheric temperature, water vapor, wind, and chemical composition at high resolution in space and over time. From its geostationary orbit, GIFTS nearly continuous surveillance of the atmospheric temperature, moisture and wind structure is expected to enable revolutionary improvements in weather analysis and prediction. GIFTS technologies enable the provision of critical weather information impossible to achieve by conventional means. The information transmitted by GIFTS will be equivalent to that obtained by launching 100,000 weather balloons every minute uith a geographical, spacing of 2 miles. Cloud motions and the transport of pollutants in the atmosphere will also be obtained from the data to be acquired by GIFTS. With its emphasis on technology development and demonstration, as well as a strong focus on weather and climate processes such as the atmospheric water cycle and transport of greenhouse and other pollutants in the earth's atmosphere, GIFTS provides many opportunities for participation of the K-16 education community. With its strong connection to topical issues such as global warming and climate change there is great potential for engaging the public's interest in the GIFTS technology and mission objectives.