HARROW: US space agency NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission, which was launched on January 31 for a minimum three-year mission to map global soil moisture and detect whether soils are frozen or thawed has begun science operations.
Using SMAP, scientists will be able to understand links between Earth’s water, energy and carbon cycles; reduce uncertainties in predicting climate; and enhance our ability to monitor and predict natural hazards like floods and droughts. SMAP data have additional practical applications, including improved weather forecasting and crop yield predictions.
During SMAP’s first three months in orbit, referred to as SMAP’s “commissioning” phase, the observatory was first exposed to the space environment, its solar array and reflector boom assembly containing SMAP’s 20-foot (6-meter) reflector antenna were deployed, and the antenna and instruments were spun up to their full speed, enabling global measurements every two to three days.
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