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Blogs > loveisamyth > loveisamyth, stars are forever


loveisamyth 68M
849 posts
1/31/2015 8:15 am

Last Read:
2/3/2015 9:57 am
ROCKET LAUNCHED WILL AID CLIMATE CHANGE STUDY
This morning, Jan 31st, NASA launched the SMAP satellite from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. SMAP's Delta II rocket lifted off into a pre-dawn sky that provided a dark backdrop for the engine's glowing exhaust. Ken Maytag photographed the display from Carpinteria, California.

"Launches from Vandenberg are always spectacular here on the Santa Barbara coast," says Maytag. "This one did not disappoint."

SMAP is on a mud mission. From high above Earth, it will track the water in soils beneath our feet. This relatively unmonitored reservoir of global H2O plays an important role in our planet's weather and climate. One of the things SMAP can do, which other satellites cannot, is sense whether the ground is frozen or thawed. This will help researchers determine how much carbon plants are removing from the atmosphere each year, thus improving our current understanding of global warming. Visit the SMAP home page for more information.


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