(AGENPARL) – Rome, May 26, 2024
Yesterday at NASA He’s done A major achievement in climate research through the launch of two satellites dedicated to measuring the amount of heat lost to space from the Arctic and Antarctica. As CNN reported, the launch was successful from a rocket launch complex located in New Zealand.
The science mission, known as the Polar Radiant Energy in the Far Infrared Experiment (PREFER), aims to improve scientific understanding of how water vapor, clouds and other elements in Earth’s atmosphere trap heat and prevent it from escaping “radiation into space.”
According to NASA, the data collected by the PREFER satellites will be key to developing more accurate predictions regarding the impact of the climate crisis. This information will impact our understanding of critical phenomena such as sea level, weather conditions, and snow and ice cover. In fact, the Earth absorbs a large amount of solar energy in the tropics, and then this thermal energy is transmitted towards the poles via atmospheric and ocean currents, where it radiates upward into space.
One innovative aspect of the mission is measuring far-infrared wavelengths, a thermal range that has not yet been systematically measured. This region of the electromagnetic spectrum accounts for a large portion of the heat that Earth radiates into space.
The PREFER mission uses two satellites equipped with highly specialized miniature thermal sensors. The first satellite was launched today, while the second is scheduled to be launched soon. Once in orbit, the satellites will follow asynchronous near-polar paths, meaning they will pass over specific points on the Earth’s surface at different times, allowing for more detailed and continuous coverage and data collection.
This innovative mission represents a major advance in our ability to monitor and understand climate change globally, providing essential tools to address future environmental challenges.
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