[ad_1]
The same storm captured by RainCube is seen here in the infrared of only one meteorological satellite, the GOES (Geoweather Operational Environmental Satellite) of the NOAA. Credit: NOAA
How many times did you go out in a rain storm without an umbrella and did you want the weather forecast to be more accurate?
A satellite no bigger than a shoebox can help a day. Small enough to fit in a backpack, the aptly named RainCube (Radar in a CubeSat) uses experimental technology to detect storms by detecting rain and snow with very small instruments. The people behind the miniature mission celebrated after RainCube returned its first images of a storm on Mexico during a technology rally in August. Its second wave of images in September attracted the first rains of Hurricane Florence.
The small satellite is a prototype for a potential fleet of RainCubes that could one day help monitor severe storms, improve the accuracy of weather forecasts, and track climate change over time.
"We have no way of measuring how water and air are moving in thunderstorms around the world," said Graeme Stephens, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Climate Science Center. NASA in Pasadena, California. "We simply do not have any information on this, but it is essential for predicting extreme weather conditions and even how the rains will change in a future climate.
RainCube is a mini weather satellite, no bigger than a shoebox, which will measure storms. This is part of NASA's many new experiments to track storms from space with many small satellites rather than large individual satellites. Credit: UCAR
RainCube is a type of "technical demonstration", an experiment to determine whether the reduction of a weather radar into a low-cost miniature satellite could still provide real-time insight into storms. RainCube "sees" objects using a radar, in the same way that a bat uses a sonar. The satellite-shaped umbrella antenna emits sound signals or specialized radar signals that bounce off raindrops, bringing an image of the inside of the storm.
Engineers like Eva Peral, a senior researcher, had to find a way to help a small spacecraft send a signal strong enough to get into a storm. "The radar signal gets into the storm, and then the radar gets an echo," Peral said. "As the radar signal penetrates deeper into the layers of the storm and measures the rain at these layers, we have a glimpse of the activity inside the storm."
See larger image
RainCube was deployed in July in low Earth orbit from the International Space Station. The first pictures he sent back came from an area above Mexico, where he took a picture of a storm in August.
A photo of Google Earth in the mountainous region of Mexico where RainCube recorded its first storm. The white line shows the flight path of RainCube. The colored chart at the bottom right shows the amount of rain produced by the storm, as seen by the RainCube radar. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Google
"There is a plethora of ground experiences that have provided a huge amount of information, and that 's why our weather forecasts are not so bad today," said Simone. Tanelli, co-investigator of RainCube. "But they do not provide a global vision.Moreover, there are meteorological satellites that offer a global view, but what they do not tell you, is what happens at the same time. inside the storm or decadence happen. "
But RainCube is not meant to fulfill a storm-tracking mission all by itself. This is only the first demonstration that a mini-rain radar could work.
As RainCube is miniaturized, which makes it cheaper to launch, many more satellites could be sent into orbit. Flying together like geese, they could follow the storms, sending them updated information every few minutes. Finally, they could provide data to help evaluate and improve weather patterns that predict the movement of rain, snow, sleet, and snow.
"In fact, we are going to do more interesting scientific research with a constellation rather than just one," said Stephens. "What we are learning in the field of earth sciences is that spatial and temporal coverage is more important than having a really expensive satellite instrument that is only one thing."
RainCube was deployed in July in Low Earth Orbit from the International Space Station, where it measured rain and snowfall from space. Further examination reveals that there are two CubeSats in these images: RainCube is the lower CubeSat close to the Earth, while the one above is HaloSat. Image credit: NASA
And that future seems closer now that RainCube and other Earth Observation CubeSats have proven they can work.
"What RainCube is proposing on the one hand is a demonstration of the measures we currently have in space," said Stephens. "But what this really demonstrates is the possibility of an entirely new and different way to observe Earth with many small radars, which will open up a new perspective on the Earth's hydrological cycle."
RainCube is a technology demonstration mission to activate Ka-band precipitation radar technologies on a fast and cost-effective platform.
Explore more:
New Small Satellites Observe Hurricane Florence
Source link
