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As GPM advances into the crucial Preliminary Design Phase, it is important that we continue to work cohesively to ensure success of the mission. On September 24-27, GPM Project Formulation Office Staff members conducted a strategic planning retreat at the Tidewater Inn and Conference Center in Easton, Maryland. The object of the meeting was to scrutinize GPM’s scope, purpose, and progress thus far, and to establish short-, mid-, and long-term key mileposts that must be achieved to ensure program success. At the retreat, the team determined that GPM’s short-term milepost is to prepare for and conduct a Mission Confirmation Review (currently scheduled for December 2003) that is so successful it serves as a model for future missions. Then, during the next several years (2004-2008), the GPM team will strive to achieve its mid-term milepost—successful launch of the GPM Core Spacecraft in Fall 2007. Finally, our long-term milepost is to establish GPM and its contributions firmly in the minds of the world’s citizens. We envision a scenario where nearly all members of the public will recognize GPM and the impact it has on their lives. This third milestone is particularly inspiring. To meet this challenge, GPM scientists, engineers, and programmers will need to ensure that GPM can provide accurate, frequent, global measurements that can be translated into products that will be used to positively affect life on our planet. In addition, to achieve such worldwide recognition, the GPM team will need to institute a major initiative to educate the public about the benefits of GPM. In fact, this newsletter can be considered an element of GPM’s outreach and education strategy. In this issue, we explore elements of the GPM Core Spacecraft, including the unique design of its solar array panels and the properties of its principal instrument—a radiometer known as the GPM Microwave Imager. A new section of the newsletter provides an introduction to the Calibration/Validation process that will be utilized for GPM. Also, we continue the series of informative articles in the Science section with an article explaining the role of precipitation in the global water cycle. Overall, GPM is progressing well. We continue to work with other nations to create mutually beneficial partnerships, and NASA is on the verge of selecting a team to conduct scientific investigations in precipitation measurement missions. A component of this team will work together to establish the fundamental requirements for GPM. They will create the GPM Science Implementation Plan, which will guide the development of the mission. (To access the NASA Research Announcement for this opportunity, visit http://research.hq.nasa.gov/code_y/nra/current/NRA-02-OES-05/index.html.) Enjoy this issue of The GPM Monitor, and as always, if you have questions about GPM please do not hesitate to contact me. Jim Adams GPM Project Formulation Manager
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