They will learn about collecting environmental data on the mountain’s six biomes and meet a NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist to discuss the SMAP Mission, a satellite that measures the Earth’s soil moisture. A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory onboard launches from Space Launch Complex 2, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. S For this reason, the instrument remains spinning for all but the most severe faults (Figure Orbit: Sun-synchronous dawn/dusk orbit, altitude = 685 km, inclination = 98º, LTAN (Local Time of Ascending Node) = 18:00 hours, repeat cycle = 8 days.The instrument name is the same as the mission name. NASA's SMAP satellite observatory conducted a field experiment as part of its soil moisture data product validation program in southern Arizona. Results of a study reveal that SMAP soil moisture retrievals are generally better than AMSR2 soil moisture data. In particular, SMOS data show increased RFI levels in global regions outside the Americas.Available characterization data shows RFI sources are either pulsed or narrow-band [i.e., continuous wave (CW)–like] in nature. Four low altitude lines were used to provide high spatial resolution data for fields with homogeneous vegetation conditions. - Many of the crops were near bare soil conditions at the outset of SMAPVEX12 and reached peak biomass/vegetation water content by its end. The freeze/thaw state measurement places a 1 dB requirement on the relative error of each vertical and horizontal co-polarized backscatter measurement at 3 km resolution.The radar relative error depends on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the number of independent samples, or “looks”, averaged in each measurement, as well as the relative calibration error. The reactions wheels are oriented and sized so that a failure in an individual wheel can be tolerated. NASA celebrated the 45th annual Earth Day April 17-22 with a variety of live and online activities to engage the public in the Agency's mission to better understand and protect our home planet. The observatory is designed to robustly and autonomously recover attitude following the momentum change associated with a despin, but the return to science operations is a longer process resulting in undesirable science data loss. In approximately 3 days it completes global coverage with an exact repeat cycle of 8 days. The transponders, transmitters, and IRUs (Inertial Reference Units) are redundant. It was therefore decided to implement an active thermal control augmentation to the existing passive thermal design. Site Editors: Tony Greicius, Randal Jackson, Naomi Hartono External calibration is achieved using cold sky and ambient microwave absorber targets for the radiometer, and flat plates and dihedral reflectors for the radar. SMAP data are now being used operationally by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to monitor global croplands and make commodity forecasts. Discovery Channel features students exploring Mount Kilimanjaro. It complements the Canadian Experiment for Soil Moisture in 2010 (CanEx-SM10) by providing extensive data sets for the development and validation of SMAP passive and active soil moisture retrieval algorithms. This is an example of how critical RF performance had to be carefully balanced with other design considerations such as operating in LEO.Another challenge related to the RBA has been the extensive modeling and component level testing for a piecewise verification of the antenna RF performance. The lowest elevation that PALS can operate at is determined by the minimum distance for radar data acquisition (~1000 m), which results in a spatial resolution of ~350 m cross-track and 650 m along-track for the low altitude flights. The SMAP satellite is in a near-polar orbit at an inclination of 98 degrees and an altitude of 685 km. Mission operations and science data processing will be conducted by JPL with GSFC support.The spacecraft design was developed concurrently and synergistically with the instrument to reduce overall observatory complexity and therefore, development effort. On Sept. 24, 2008, SMAP was formally approved to initiate Phase A.- In 2011, the instrument system has completed the preliminary design review (PDR) stage, and detailed instrument design has begun.- In May 2012, SMAP successfully passed the Key Decision Point-C (KDP-C) review and is now in Phase C of the mission.- SMAP succesfully completed its CDR (Critical Design Review) in July, 2012.- In May 2013, a NASA team at GSFC delivered the SMAP radiometer to JPL where it will be integrated into the SMAP spacecraft along with the L-band radar (SAR) instrument developed by JPL. The unique aspect of the SMAP application is the necessity for rotating the large antenna. Based on the downscaled brightness temperature results, it should be possible to achieve a soil moisture product at medium resolution within the specified accuracy requirement.
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. Soil moisture fields are functions of variables that change over time across the range of scales from a few meters to several kilometers. The Australian SMAPEx program is led by: Jeffrey Walker of Monash University and Rocco Panciera of the University of Melbourne. These diplexers are located on the spun side and are shown as part of the radiometer subsystem. Ground sampling of soil moisture, vegetation and roughness data were conducted concurrently with the airborne flights, in order to provide ancillary and validation data. Sensor placement rules are being developed based on spatial statistics of soil moisture. Therefore, the thermal design employs passive design features for short-term stability, such as the use of a titanium thermal isolator and radome for the feed.