NASA Launching Miniature Satellites to Study Earth's Polar Regions for Climate Prediction

Sunday - February 18 2024, 08:06 UTC - 9 months ago

Two new miniature NASA satellites named McMurdo and Thwaites, part of the PREFIRE mission, will launch in 2024 to measure heat loss from Earth's polar regions and improve climate predictions. Developed by NASA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, these CubeSats will carry thermal infrared spectrometers and aims to fill in crucial missing data about Earth's energy budget and radiation emissions from the poles. This groundbreaking mission has the potential to improve our understanding of global warming and its impact on our planet's climate.

In just a few short months, two new miniature satellites will be launched into orbit by NASA, with a mission to study Earth's polar regions and their impact on climate change. These tiny satellites, called CubeSats, will be part of the PREFIRE mission, or Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment. Equipped with technology that has already proven successful on Mars, the PREFIRE satellites aim to fill in crucial missing data about Earth's energy budget and radiation emissions from the polar regions .

The satellite mission has been a joint effort between NASA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with contributions from the universities of Michigan and Colorado as well. The main objective of the PREFIRE mission is to measure the amount of heat lost to space from Earth's polar regions, which will help improve climate models and predictions.The polar regions play a critical role in Earth's energy balance .

Just like radiator fins, they help to distribute heat energy from the equator towards the poles. This energy is emitted as thermal infrared radiation, which is the same type of energy we feel from a heat lamp. It is estimated that around 60% of this energy is emitted into space in far-infrared wavelengths, which have never been systematically measured before.The PREFIRE satellites, named McMurdo and Thwaites after two Antarctic research stations, will carry thermal infrared spectrometers designed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory .

These instruments include specially shaped mirrors and detectors for splitting and measuring infrared light, similar to those used by the Mars Climate Sounder on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Miniaturizing these instruments for use on CubeSats was a challenge for the engineering team, but they were able to develop a scaled-down design optimized for Earth's comparatively warm temperatures.The satellites will measure the thermal infrared radiation emitted from Earth's polar regions and gather data on the locations and intensities of these emissions .

This will help to close the gap in our understanding of Earth's energy budget and improve climate projections. In fact, a major source of uncertainty in climate models is the lack of accurate data from the poles, and the PREFIRE mission aims to change that.The PREFIRE satellites are scheduled to launch from New Zealand just two weeks apart in May 2024. They will orbit Earth alone, allowing them to gather data from all angles and provide a more complete picture of Earth's radiation emissions .

By shedding light on this crucial missing piece of the Earth's energy puzzle, the PREFIRE mission has the potential to improve our understanding of our planet's climate and how it will be impacted by global warming.Overall, the launch of the PREFIRE satellites marks an exciting step in our efforts to monitor and understand the Earth's changing climate. With their advanced technology and innovative design, these tiny satellites will play a critical role in shaping our understanding of this complex and rapidly evolving issue .