The New Millennium Program (NMP) was created to identify, develop, and test advanced technologies and concepts for infusion into future missions. To determine the future capabilities needed, NMP is guided by NASA's Earth and space science "roadmaps." These roadmaps, developed by scientists, lay out the path of future scientific enquiry. They serve not only as a vital guide for NMP's selection of technologies, but are used to conceive and design the Program's test missions as well.

NMP's technologists attempt to match the technical requirements outlined in the roadmaps with technologies emerging from the national "pipeline." This pipeline consists of current technology-development efforts in the private sector, academia, non-profit organizations, and other government and NASA centers.

The GIFTS-IOMI mission is just such a mission, jointly sponsored by NMP and the Department of Navy's Office of Naval Research (ONR). The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will support data retrieval and analysis. Other agencies and advanced technology providers will participate in the development of the mission. NASA and designated centers of education, along with other educational programs, will bring information about the mission and its results to the public.

EO3's GIFTS will fly as a primary payload (instrument/experiments) onboard a Department of Defense launch vehicle. NASA will operate the GIFTS instrument over the continental United States for an initial period of time to checkout the function of the new technologies and to refine algorithms used to convert the GIFTS data into usable weather information. The Navy will use the data from the GIFTS instrument during the IOMI operational phase over the Indian Ocean.

The GIFTS-IOMI mission consists of two operational phases: GIFTS validation in the first phase, and then the IOMI operational phase. NASA's Langley Research Center (LaRC), located in Hampton, Virginia, will manage the GIFTS validation phase, then the instrument will be transferred to the Navy's ONR on orbit. This arrangement allows NASA and NOAA to receive the GIFTS instrument data during the IOMI phase as well. But, the primary focus of the IOMI phase is the Navy requirements over the Indian Ocean.

The GIFTS innovative atmospheric measurement concept was developed at NASA's LaRC. The Center will manage the development of the instrument and support the Navy in its development of the spacecraft. LaRC will also develop the techniques for validating GIFTS' technologies. The Navy's ONR will fund GIFTS' enhancements——such as redundancy in the electronics required for a longer operational lifetime——and manage the development of the spacecraft and launch vehicle.

Advanced technology companies (TRW and Boeing) will build the spacecraft and the launch vehicle, then conduct test and integration procedures. Utah State University's Space Dynamics Laboratory will develop, then support the validation of, GIFTS sensor module, and calibrate the instrument. The University of Wisconsin-Madison will develop the algorithms for processing the instrument data.

GIFTS technologies will be demonstrated and validated for approximately six months to 18 months. These technologies will be developed and provided by several United States companies and are beyond current state-of-the-art in space instrumentation. NOAA will provide ground system data receipt during the EO3 phase of the mission and will manage the distribution of meteorological data products (results) during all phases of the mission. NOAA will evaluate the GIFTS temperature, moisture, and tracer wind profile products for their potential operational benefits.

One commercial airliner, American Airlines, along with NASA's Aviation Safety Program, will test GIFTS data products in an effort to improve airline operations. The airliner and the safety program will document how GIFTS observations help pilots steer clear of potentially hazardous weather. They will investigate if better flight-level wind information, particularly over data-sparse oceanic regions, improves fuel management.

The GIFTS' outreach program is managed by Dr. Arlene Levine, Outreach and Education Manager for Langley's Atmospheric Science Competency, and by Dr. Sanjay Limaye, of the University of Wisconsin. NMP's outreach and education program is managed Nancy Leon, Program Outreach Coordinator, at Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Partnering accomplishes NMP's objective of reducing costs while space testing new technologies and concepts.