Latest French space program Stories
WATCH VIDEOS: [Aquarius Measuring Salty Seas 1] - [Aquarius Measuring Salty Seas 2] Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online The salinity level of the world’s rivers, lakes and oceans has been a growing topic in response to global climate change. As NASA’s Aquarius instrument has shown previously, seasonal salinity has been on the rise in oceans all around the world. This year, the picture is no less striking, with deep shades of oranges and reds, at least in the...
ESA [ Watch The Video Sea-Surface Salinity and Currents ] ESA’s water mission is shedding new light on the meandering Gulf Stream, just one of the SMOS satellite’s numerous achievements. Launched in 2009, ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite has been helping us to understand the water cycle. Over the past three years it has been providing more accurate information on global soil moisture and ocean salinity. New results unveiled today in Spain show that SMOS...
redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports - Your Universe Online A Soyuz rocket carrying an Earth observation satellite has lifted off from a spaceport in French Guiana, officials from the Russian national space agency (Roscosmos) announced on Sunday. According to RIA Novosti reports, the Russian Soyuz ST-a carrier rocket and its payload, the multi-purpose European observation satellite Pleiades 1B, lifted off at 6:03 Moscow time on Sunday. The launch had been scheduled for Saturday morning,...
ESA When millions of people are bracing themselves for the onslaught of extreme weather, as much information as possible is needed to predict the strength of the impending storm. ESA’s SMOS mission again showed its versatility by capturing unique measurements of Hurricane Sandy. As its name suggests, the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite was designed to measure how much moisture is held in soil and how much salt is held in the surface waters of the oceans. This...
Earth observation measurements shouldn’t be taken with a pinch of salt. ESA is comparing readings of sea-surface salinity from drifting floats to confirm the SMOS water mission’s measurements. Since its launch in 2009, ESA’s Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite has been helping us to understand the water cycle. As with any Earth observation mission, it is important to validate the readings acquired from space. This involves comparing the satellite data with...
Scientists have gathered in the 'floating city' this week to talk about radar altimetry – measuring the heights of the global sea surface, freshwater bodies, land and ice using spaceborne sensors. Held every five years, the '20 Years of Progress in Radar Altimetry Symposium' gives participants the opportunity to focus on the challenges overcome to develop our current understanding of Earth’s surface variations observed by altimetry. Radar altimeters record the surface topography...
