NASA launched two tiny satellites to study the Earth's poles

This weekend will be a busy time for NASA with a series of important satellite launches. The US Aeronautics and Space Administration will not only attempt the first launch of the Boeing Starliner crew (scheduled for Saturday, June 1) after a series of delays, but will also complete the The second phase of a new mission called PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment), with the goal of collecting data on the heat that the Earth's poles release into space, thereby improving the ability to predict climate change report.

' NASA's PREFIRE mission will fill in gaps in our understanding of the Earth system, providing scientists with a detailed picture of how Earth's polar regions influence the amount of energy that our planet absorbs and releases into space ', Karen St. Germain, director of NASA's Earth Science Division, said in a statement. ' The resulting data will improve predictions of sea ice loss, ice melt and sea level rise, providing a better understanding of how our planetary system will change in the future. years to come '.

The mission includes two small satellites called CubeSats, about the size of a shoebox. Each satellite has an instrument called a thermal infrared spectrometer that will display the heat emitted from the poles. The first of these satellites was launched last Saturday, May 25, while the second will be launched this Saturday, June 1. Both launches will use Rocket Lab Electron rockets to put satellites into orbit. Like the first CubeSat, the second satellite will launch from Rocket Lab's Launch Complex 1 in Māhia, New Zealand.

The communication system with the first CubeSat has been established, so after the second one is launched, there will be a 30-day period to check that everything is working correctly before going into phase official implementation.

As mentioned, with PREFIRE, NASA wants to find out how clouds, humidity or the melting of ice into water affect heat loss from the poles. Until now, the models that climate change scientists use to assess heat loss are based on theory, not actual observations.

The PREFIRE satellites may be small, but will help close a major gap in our knowledge of Earth's energy budget. Satellite observations will help improve our ability to simulate future sea level rise and how climate change trends at the poles will affect weather systems across the planet.

Samuel Daniel

Update 03 June 2024