Spacecraft For Earth To Combat Climate Change
NASA is getting ready to send two small satellites to the Earth’s poles. They’re doing this to gather information that can help fight climate change.
The satellites are called “Cubesats” and they’re part of the PREFIRE mission. They’ll launch in the spring of 2024 and will fly between 292 and 403 miles above the Earth. These satellites will orbit close to the poles, crossing paths with each other in the sky.
The PREFIRE mission will be the first time scientists can measure all the heat coming from the Earth’s polar regions. These areas play a big role in controlling the Earth’s climate. By understanding them better, we can make more accurate predictions about climate change.
Brian Drouin, who works on the mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, says this project can teach us a lot about our planet. Scientists used to not realize how important the radiation from the poles was. But now, they know it’s crucial.
The Earth is getting warmer because of things like pollution from burning fossil fuels. This affects everyone, but it’s hitting the Arctic region especially hard. Since the 1970s, the Arctic has warmed three times faster than anywhere else. This has led to a big decrease in winter sea ice.
Things aren’t much better in the Antarctic, at the other end of the Earth. There, ice sheets are melting at a rate of about 150 billion tons per year.
These changes in the poles affect the whole world. They can change ocean temperatures and cause sea levels to rise. This can lead to flooding in coastal areas, which is dangerous for people and animals. It can also damage infrastructure and make it harder for people to get the services they need.
Tristan L’Ecuyer, a scientist working on the PREFIRE mission, says that what happens in the poles affects the weather all over the world. To understand and predict these changes better, scientists need more data. That’s where the PREFIRE mission comes in.
The two satellites will orbit the Earth and pass over the poles every few hours. This will give scientists a lot of information about what’s happening there. They’ll be able to measure things like temperature, water vapor, and clouds.
The PREFIRE satellites will launch from New Zealand in May. They’ll go up into space two weeks apart from each other.
L’Ecuyer says that as scientists learn more, they’ll be able to understand what the future holds for the Arctic and Antarctic better.
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