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SMAP was launched January 31, 2015, and began its science mission that April, releasing its first global maps of soil moisture on April 21.

0000225760 00000 n The first global map delivered by SMAP reached a spatial resolution of 30 Kilometers. SMAP is expected to operate for at least three years of data acquisition in a mission that could be extended if the performance of the vehicle permits it. The maps generated from the data show frozen areas in blue and thawed soil moisture in red.

0000029151 00000 n Science Editor: The SMAP mission – Soil Moisture Active/Passive – aims to deliver the most accurate, highest-resolution global soil moisture measurements at a two-to-three-day repeat cycle – detecting the amount of water in the ground and whether it is frozen or thawed.

While the radar by itself can accurately determine soil moisture content, its spatial resolution is not as high, requiring its data to be combined with the radiometer data that is less sensitive in the measurement of soil moisture but capable of delivering data at a high spatial resolution.

The Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich spacecraft will soon be heading into orbit to monitor the height of the ocean for nearly the entire globe.

The advanced processing required to combine these active and passive measurements is now being functionally checked out, and is the last step in SMAP's postlaunch checkout process. Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC. The Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) platform and mission were launched on January 29, 2015.

0000138986 00000 n 0000074364 00000 n The weaker radar signals measured over the Sahara and Gobi Deserts, depicted in blue shades, reflect their very low soil moisture content and lack of vegetation cover. 0000028510 00000 n • Its antenna now spinning at full speed, the SMAP observatory has successfully tested its science instruments and produced its first global maps.

A new video series introduces some of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientists and engineers involved in the mission. 0000004489 00000 n

Weaker radar signals (blues) reflect low soil moisture or lack of vegetation, such as in deserts.

SMAP’s radar emits pulses with two different polarizations, horizontal and vertical, to make a more complete measurement of this effect. View larger, more detailed image. 0000030246 00000 n With its spin-up activities complete, the observatory's radar and radiometer instruments were powered on from March 31 to April 3 in a test designed to verify the pointing accuracy of the antenna and the overall performance of the radar and radiometer instruments.

Water changes the strength of backscatter and microwaves’ polarization (the orientation of the electrical field of the microwaves). >>>Detailed Spacecraft, Instrument & Science Overview. The SMOPS now provides a seamless soil moisture map over global land from six satellites, including GPM, SMAP, GCOM-W1, SMOS, MetOp-A, and MetOp-B.

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Spin-up was completed in stages to keep the spacecraft safe, starting with an initial rotation on March 23 before the spin was increased to 14.6 RPM that enables SMAP to sweep out a full circle with sufficient overlap between individual scans to cover a 1,000km footprint which in turn allows the spacecraft to cover the entire surface of Earth every two to three days. 0000071715 00000 n

0000226746 00000 n Strong radar signals (reds) are seen in forests. The impact of soil moisture is evident over a large region south of the Great Lakes, where an increase in soil moisture due to precipitation in March resulted in relatively cool brightness temperatures of about minus 100 Fahrenheit (about 200 Kelvin). SMAP's radar also takes data over Earth's ocean and sea ice.

Table of Contents Soil Moisture in the Earth System..... 4 SMAP Mission ..... 6 The Instruments Onboard ..... 8 How the Instruments Work..... 10 Spacecraft Design..... 11 Ground System and Data..... 12 Serving Society and Making a Difference..... 14. High-resolution moisture maps provided at a high temporal resolution can allow scientists to understand how regional water availability changes over time which can help in water resource management and the forecasting of floods, droughts and landslides.

h�b```b``������i� Ā B@1v��9E�8p�Tt>�n�ń�Oh?��������N�� \�����e��� Although SMAP was designed to measure soil moisture, its L-band radiometer is also used to measure sea surface salinity, thus extending the data record of the Aquarius salinity mission. 0000029178 00000 n The Amazon and Congo rainforests produced strong emissions, depicted in red shades, due to their large volumes of biomass. 0000027791 00000 n

Tracking the progression of the spring transition is of importance to scientists since the onset of spring brings with it the initiation of activity in forests which has implications for Earth’s carbon cycle. Managing Editor:

SMAP's radar has two data acquisition functions: one for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) processing to produce radar measurements at a spatial resolution of 0.6 to 1.9 miles (1 to 3 kilometers), and another for low-resolution processing to produce radar measurements at a spatial resolution of 19 miles (30 kilometers). 0000004738 00000 n Launching soon from the California coast, the satellite will track sea levels worldwide. Learn more about the mission in this live event. SMAP will offer the individual radar and radiometer data, among other data products. By Alan Buis,

SMAP launched Jan. 31 on a minimum three-year mission to map global soil moisture and detect whether soils are frozen or thawed.

0000033867 00000 n Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/GSFC. In a second data product, NASA released a radar image of southern U.S. in the upper half and a combined active-passive data product below.

April provided a good opportunity to SMAP to track the onset of spring by measuring soil freeze/thaw states with a radar image resolution of up to three Kilometers. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18057, http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18058. 0000029752 00000 n

The work to calibrate the instruments is far from over, though. 0000002597 00000 n Water — including water in soil — responds differently than dry soil does to microwaves. It will take another year to properly calibrate the radar and radiometer payloads to achieve the best possible measurement accuracy that can be achieved by SMAP to deliver unprecedented maps of global soil moisture.

Science Editor:

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