NASA is planning to send four satellite missions aimed at studying weather conditions, mineral dust, oceans and surface water on Earth in 2022, SpaceNews reported Wednesday.
The launch dates of Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation Structure and Storm Intensity with a Constellation of SmallSats, Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation, Joint Polar Satellite System and Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellites were announced during an online press briefing for the annual American Geophysical Union conference.
Six TROPICS small satellites are set to launch on an Astra Space rocket in March and will provide storm data three hours faster than orbiting National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration satellites.
EMIT will observe Earth’s mineral dust, an important part of the cloud formation and snow melting processes, from an external platform in the International Space Station.
JPSS-2, a joint NASA satellite with NOAA, is scheduled for a September liftoff onboard United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket for observation missions using its infrared imaging radiometers, ozone mapping and profiler technologies, and microwave and infrared sounders.
SWOT, a collaborative effort between NASA and the French, Canadian and U.K. space agencies, will map surface elevation of water using two radar antennas and a mast following its launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in November.