NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Md., will host this month's Sunday Experiment on Jan. 19 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. EST. It's a free afternoon for elementary school-aged children and their families.

This month's Sunday Experiment explores how scientists will be able to measure rain and snow from space with the Global Precipitation Measurement satellite mission. Set to launch in February 2014, GPM will use revolutionary technology and a network of U.S. and international satellites to provide a global picture of rain and falling snow. GPM's expert scientists and engineers will describe how we will be able to measure rainstorms down to the individual drop from as far away as Washington, D.C., to New York City! These presentations will also explain how people all over the world will use this new data to inform about when to plant crops, when a hurricane may intensify, where it may flood or where diseases may be more likely to spread.

GPM is an international mission co-lead by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Building upon the success of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission, GPM will expand our understanding of where, when and how much it rains and snows and provide a global picture of rain every three hours. Come discover this exciting new mission, explore how the satellite works, watch a newly released Science on a Sphere film called "Water Falls," and use your hands and your brain to build your own rain gauge, develop your own satellite and make a landslide!

The Sunday Experiment-usually held the third Sunday of each month from September through May with some exceptions-spotlights Goddard's world-renowned science and engineering research and technological developments. Families leave inspired by the activities, wowed by the scientists and engineers and excited about Goddard's revolutionary research and technology. In addition to celebrating all things science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the Sunday Experiment celebrates major science missions that are managed by Goddard and set to launch in the near future.

For more information on Sunday Experiment, visit Goddard's Visitor Center events webpage:

http://visitorcenterevents.gsfc.nasa.gov/

For more information and directions to the NASA Goddard Visitor Center, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/home/index.html

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/visitor/directions/index.html

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NASA Invites Children, Families to Learn about Global Precipitation Measurement Mission