Alongside the launch of SMAP, NASA pioneered an early adopter program to apply the data from the SMAP satellite to a variety of real-world applications.
Alongside the launch of SMAP, NASA pioneered an early adopter program to apply the data from the SMAP satellite to a variety of real-world applications.
Initial data from SMAP capture the 2015 spring thaw progression over the Northern Hemisphere, with a thaw front extending from predominantly non-frozen southern latitudes to the still-frozen north.
NASA doesn’t study just the stars and planets; it is also concerned with the soil beneath your feet. Studying the moisture in the top two inches of the soil from space with a satellite named "SMAP" can help weather forecasters predict flash floods, farmers grow more crops, and communities plan for drought.
NASA held a media briefing at 11 a.m. PST (2 p.m. EST) Thursday, Jan. 8, at NASA Headquarters in Washington to discuss the upcoming Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission.
The deployable mesh reflector is offset from nadir and rotates about the nadir axis at 14.6 rpm, providing a conically scanning antenna beam with a surface incidence angle of 40°. The 6 m (20 foot) antenna is made of gold-coated mesh.
The water cycle refers to the movement of water between different parts of the Earth’s environment, including the atmosphere, natural reservoirs such as oceans and lakes, and the soil and rock formations making up the Earth’s land surfaces.
Retrieved soil moisture based on both simulated “active” radar and “passive” radiometer data over three spacecraft swaths. The SMAP Testbed facility hosted the simulations, retrievals, and the presentation tools that yielded this output.