The POT launched a satellite that is part of a mission to observe and Analyze the water on the Earth’s surface.
The device was built by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the French space agency Center National d’Études Spatiales (CNES). It was released last Friday, December 16.
The satellite is also called Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT). It has contributions from the Canadian and British space agencies.
What is the NASA SWOT space mission?
NASA reported that the device will measure the height of the water in bodies of this liquid, both fresh and salty, found in more than 90% of the Earth’s surface.
The information collected is expected to provide data on why the ocean affects climate changeas well as how global warming is affecting lakes, rivers and reservoirs.
In addition, the research will determine how communities can prepare better during natural disasters, such as floods.
The SWOT satellite was launched with a SpaceX rocket of Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and will collect data over a three-year primary mission.
After a successful launch, the scientists who control it from Earth perform a series of checks and calibrations before I start with the data collection, which will start in six months.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson noticed the warmest seas, extreme weather conditions and the most severe forest fires, they are only part of the impacts humanity is facing from climate change.
“The climate crisis calls for an all hands on deck approachand SWOT is the realization of a long-term international partnership that will ultimately better equip communities to meet these challenges.”
The US agency noted that SWOT will cover the entire Earth’s surface between latitude 78 degrees south and latitude 78 degrees north at least once every 21 days.
It will send about a terabyte of raw data to scientists every day.
NASA noted that the heart of the spacecraft is an innovative instrument, the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn), which reflects radar pulses off the surface of the water and receives the return signal using two antennas installed on each side.
in this way engineers will be able to accurately determine the height of the water surface in two strips at once, each 50 kilometers wide.
“The data the innovation will provide is essential to better understanding how air interactsEarth’s water and ecosystems, and how humans can thrive on our changing planet,” said Karen St. Germain, director of NASA’s Department of Earth Sciences.
The mission will provide a clearer picture of the Earth’s freshwater bodies, with data on more than 95 percent of the world’s lakes and rivers that are over 100 meters wide.
The NASA satellite too will provide information about sea level, and it will fill observation gaps in areas where there are no tide gauges or other instruments that measure sea surface height.
