{"id":23992,"date":"2022-12-16T13:25:30","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T13:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/16\/satellite-launched-to-map-the-worlds-oceans-lakes-rivers\/"},"modified":"2022-12-16T13:25:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-16T13:25:30","slug":"satellite-launched-to-map-the-worlds-oceans-lakes-rivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/16\/satellite-launched-to-map-the-worlds-oceans-lakes-rivers\/","title":{"rendered":"Satellite launched to map the world’s oceans, lakes, rivers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A U.S.-French satellite that will map almost all of the world\u2019s oceans, lakes and rivers rocketed into orbit Friday.<\/p>\n

The predawn launch aboard a SpaceX<\/a> rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California capped a highly successful year for NASA.<\/p>\n

Nicknamed SWOT \u2014 short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography \u2014 the satellite is needed more than ever as climate change worsens droughts, flooding and coastal erosion, according to scientists.<\/p>\n

“We’re going to be able to see things that we could just not see before … and really understand where water is at any given time,\u201d said Benjamin Hamlington at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.<\/p>\n

About the size of an SUV, the satellite will measure the height of water on more than 90% of Earth\u2019s surface, allowing scientists to track the flow and identify potential high-risk areas. It will also survey millions of lakes as well as 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers) of rivers, from headwater to mouth.<\/p>\n

The satellite will shoot radar pulses at Earth, with the signals bouncing back to be received by a pair of antennas, one on each end of a 33-foot (10-meter) boom. <\/p>\n

It should be able to make out currents and eddies less than 13 miles (21 kilometers) across, as well as areas of the ocean where water masses of varying temperatures merge.<\/p>\n

NASA\u2019s current fleet of nearly 30 Earth-observing satellites cannot make out such slight features. And while these older satellites can map the extent of lakes and rivers, their measurements are not as detailed, said the University of North Carolina\u2019s Tamlin Pavelsky, who is part of the mission.<\/p>\n

Perhaps most importantly, the satellite will reveal the location and speed of rising sea levels and the shift of coastlines, key to saving lives and property. It will cover the globe between the Arctic and Antarctica at least once every three weeks, as it orbits more than 550 miles (890 kilometers) high. The mission is expected to last three years.<\/p>\n

NASA and the French Space Agency collaborated on the $1.2 billion project, with Britain and Canada chipping in.<\/p>\n

“What a spectacular, truly spectacular, launch,\u201d said NASA program manager Nadya Vinogradova-Shiffer. \u201cIt is a pivotal moment, and I\u2019m very excited about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Already recycled, the first-stage booster returned to Vandenberg eight minutes after liftoff to fly again one day.<\/p>\n

It’s the latest milestone this year for NASA. Among the other highlights: glamour shots of the universe from the new Webb Space Telescope; the Dart spacecraft\u2019s dead-on slam into an asteroid in the first planetary defense test; and the Orion capsule\u2019s recent return from the moon following a test flight.<\/p>\n

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n