While the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has seen most of its late exploits as plans to further explore the planets in our solar system, the new NASA soil moisture mapping satellite will attempt to show scientists more about our planet Earth in a new geology satellite.
After a successful launch over the past weekend, the new NASA soil moisture mapping satellite embarks on a three-year mission that's set to look up information about the Earth's land and what's beneath our feet, in a study with wide implications for science and the way human beings should be behaving in the future.
According to Tech Times, the NASA soil moisture mapping satellite was launched in the early hours of Saturday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on the third attempt; the original scheduled launch was set for last Thursday, but there were adverse winds that delayed it for 24 hours; then, on Friday the rocket went through a repair that made the scientists push the launch forward until Saturday, when it finally set out to orbit our planet.
As Phys Org reports, the NASA soil moisture mapping satellite ended up launching at 6:22 am Pacific Time (which is 9:22 in EST), on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. Called SMAP for short, the rocket separated from its second stage in a 661- by 685-kilometer orbit, and then it established communications with its ground controllers, as well as deploying its solar array.
The new satellite will allow scientists to further understand components in the system of our planet that create the life-making compositions of water, carbon and general energy - also, its radars will evaluate soil to create accurate moisture maps from space, with accumulated data set to help with weather forecasts across the globe, with predictions of flooding and even serious droughts.
"The launch of SMAP completes an ambitious 11-month period for Nasa that has seen the launch of five new Earth-observing space missions to help us better understand our changing planet," said Charles Bolden, from NASA, when discussing the NASA soil moisture mapping satellite with Aerospace-Technology. "Scientists and policymakers will use SMAP data to track water movement around our planet, and make more informed decisions in critical areas like agriculture and water resources."
