NASA to launch drought-tracking satellite to track droughts and to study moisture

As per the Statement released by NASA, it is all set to launch a  new satellite in January 2015 to improve drought monitoring around the world. The Satellite is named Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite.

The satellite will be probably launched on January 29, 2015 from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission is going to take the pulse of a key measure of our water planet. The mission will provide the most correct, highest-resolution global maps that ever attained from space of the moisture present in the top 2 inches of Earth's soils.

Data from SMAP is going to be utilized to improve scientists' knowledge of the processes that connect Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles. It is going to detect and map whether the ground is frozen or thawed.

"With data from SMAP, scientists and decision makers around the world will be better equipped to understand how Earth works as a system and how soil moisture impacts a myriad of human activities, from floods and drought to weather and crop yield forecasts", said Christine Bonniksen, SMAP program executive with the Science Mission Directorate's Earth Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Christine Bonniksen said that Global soil moisture measurements of SMAP will offer a new ability to enhance their knowledge of Earth's climate. There are various reasons that researchers want to measure soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state better. Data from SMAP will increase confidence projections of how Earth's water cycle is going to react to climate change.

SMAP will also improve capability to monitor droughts, forecast floods and mitigate the associated impacts of these extreme events. It will also enable to monitor regional deficits in soil moisture. High-resolution observations of soil moisture are going to enhance flood warnings. It will give information on ground saturation conditions before rainstorms. Two advanced instruments of SMAP work together in order to produce soil moisture maps.

Expected Features of the Satellite

>The satellite will provide the best maps yet of soil moisture levels from pole-to-pole

>The satellite will be carrying a loft by a Delta II rocket

>Data from the satellite will track global soil moisture levels for the top two inches of the Earth's surface every two to three days

>The satellite will enable scientist to get a bird's-eye view of drought patterns; for instance, it will watch where droughts begin and end, and how droughts spread across large areas

>The soil moisture maps will supposedly help farmers who depend on rain to irrigate crops

>The SMAP satellite's feature rotating mesh antenna, which measures nearly six metres across - the largest ever deployed in space

It should be noted that the Soil moisture is one of the key factors in estimating drought severity; it also influences local weather, adds to hazards such as flooding, and plays a role in how plants store and release carbon.

The satellite mission costs around 916 million dollars and is planned to last for at least three years whereas the instruments will last for several years.

SMAP is one of five Earth observation satellites that NASA targeted for flash in 2014.