From New Zealand, NASA launches a satellite to study an important climate indicator, the first of its kind

Climate – The Arctic and Antarctic are the climate compass. A small NASA satellite designed to measure heat loss in space for the first time in detail across Earth's poles was launched from New Zealand on Saturday, May 25.

This mission, its name is Help yourselfIn particular, it should allow scientists to improve their forecasts of climate change.

About shoe box size

“This new information, which we didn’t have before, will help us model what’s happening at the poles, and the climate.”Karen St. Germain, NASA's director of Earth science, announced at a press conference in mid-May.

The shoebox-sized satellite was launched by a Rocket Lab Electron rocket from Mahia in northern New Zealand. A similar satellite will be launched by the same company at a later date.

Both will be used to make far-infrared measurements over the Arctic and Antarctic, directly determining the amount of heat being radiated into space for the first time.

The phenomenon of “regulating the temperature of the Earth”

This phenomenon of loss “It is very important because it helps balance the excess heat coming from the tropics and regulates the Earth’s temperature.”Tristan LeQuere, the mission's scientific director at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, explained. “This process of pushing heat from the tropics to the poles is the origin of all our weather on Earth.”He added.

With PREFIRE, NASA wants to understand how clouds, humidity, or even the transformation of a frozen surface into a liquid affect this heat loss.

Tristan Lequeur explained that the models that scientists use to predict global warming, so far, are based only, in relation to this criterion, on theories and not on real observations. “We hope to improve our ability to simulate future sea level rise, as well as how climate change at the poles will affect weather systems on the planet.”“, detail.

This satellite joins more than two dozen other NASA Earth-observing missions already in orbit. Small satellites like this one, called Cubesats, represent a real opportunity to respond. “at lower cost” For questions “highly targeted”Karen Saint-Germain explained. If the more classic large satellites could be seen, “The Generalists”These little machines are comparable to “ specialists”, She pointed out. NASA needs both.

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