42 Years Of Measuring Sun, Earth And Energy In Between

NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) has provided invaluable data for studying the energy interactions between the Sun, clouds and Earth.

Published on Feb. 24, 2026

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NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS), part of the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE), was designed to investigate how energy from the Sun is absorbed and re-emitted by the Earth. Launched in 1984, ERBE provided 10 years of data on Earth's radiation at the top of the atmosphere, including the radiative effects of clouds. This laid the groundwork for the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) mission, which has continued measuring solar energy reflected by Earth, heat the planet emits, and the role of clouds in that process. For 42 years, NASA has observed Earth's energy budget, with the CERES instrument being the most accurate radiometry NASA has flown.

Why it matters

Understanding Earth's energy budget and the role of clouds is critical for improving climate models and forecasting. The data collected helps inform industry and policymakers to better plan for the future. NASA's long-term satellite observations provide an invaluable record of the delicate equilibrium between energy from the Sun and energy radiated back into space.

The details

The first Nimbus instrument launched in 1975, providing the first global, direct observations of the amount of solar radiation entering and exiting Earth. This helped confirm and improve the earliest climate models and laid the groundwork for ERBE. ERBE launched aboard the ERBS satellite in 1984, and for 10 years provided data on Earth's radiation at the top of the atmosphere, including the radiative effects of clouds. In the late 1980s, satellite instruments provided the first direct observation that clouds cooled Earth's climate. The CERES instrument, first launched in 1997, has since extended the important ERBE measurements, with six other CERES instruments activated in space to measure solar energy reflected by Earth, the heat the planet emits, and the role of clouds.

  • Explorer 1 became the first satellite launched by the United States on Jan. 31, 1958.
  • NASA's first Nimbus instrument launched in 1975, providing the first global, direct observations of the amount of solar radiation entering and exiting Earth.
  • ERBE launched aboard NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) from the space shuttle Challenger in October 1984.
  • The first CERES instrument launched in December 1997 aboard NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM).
  • The seventh and final CERES instrument launched aboard NOAA's Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS)-1 in November 2017 and achieved 'first light' in January 2018.

The players

Bruce Barkstrom

Retired experiment scientist for ERBE.

Bruce Wielicki

Former Principal Investigator for the CERES mission.

Kory Priestley

CERES Principal Investigator.

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What they’re saying

“We had to get up at 3:30 a.m. to watch the ERBS launch at 7:30 a.m., and what I remember about that particular morning was that we had an overcast sky. And when the shuttle lit up, it was such a bright exhaust that it lit up the whole sky from underneath.”

— Bruce Barkstrom, Retired experiment scientist for ERBE (Mirage News)

“The CERES instrument is small, it's very elegant, it's probably the most accurate radiometry that NASA has flown. We're trying to build the next generation of instrument now to meet the same requirements.”

— Kory Priestley, CERES Principal Investigator (Mirage News)

What’s next

NASA's Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor (TSIS)-1 is currently on the International Space Station in a mission to measure the Sun's energy input to Earth, advancing previous measurements and enabling scientists to study the Sun's natural influence on Earth's ozone layer, atmospheric circulation, clouds and ecosystems.

The takeaway

For over four decades, NASA's satellite observations of Earth's energy budget have provided an invaluable record of the delicate balance between incoming solar energy and outgoing thermal and reflected energy. This long-term data has been critical for improving climate models and informing industry and policymakers, demonstrating NASA's enduring commitment to understanding our planet's interconnected natural systems.