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NASAtolaunchmicrowaveSPACELASSOtoprobeEarth'swetspotsTheRegister

VideoAttheendofthemonth,NASAwilllaunchoneofitsmostunusualsatellitesyet:aradarhurling
a19footlong(6metre)meshantennaarounditsheadeveryfourseconds.
"Wecallitthespinninglasso,"saidWendyEdelstein,instrumentmanagerfortheSoilMoistureActive
Passive(SMAP)sensorbuiltbyNASA'sJetPropulsionLaboratoryinPasadena,California.
Theantennawillbefoldedupintoa1ftx4ft(30cmx120cm)sheetandlaunchedintoorbitonJanuary
29.Wheninposition,itmustbeunfoldedasflatandsmoothaspossible,withnowrinklesorkinks

OTHEREARTHS,OUTTHERE:Homeof
Man'notunique'

deformingitmorethanafewmillimetresfromitsdesign.
NASAwillusegraphitestrutsandanovelmechanismtounfoldthelassosothatitcancaptureallthe
dataneeded.
"Makingsurewedon'thavesnags,thatthemeshdoesn'thanguponthesupportsandtearwhenit's
deployingallofthatrequiresverycarefulengineering,"Edelsteinsaid."Wetest,andwetest,andwe
testsomemore.Wehaveaverystableandrobustsystemnow."

Groundcontrolto2014:Ayearin
SPAAAAAAAAAACE

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LOHAN'sPluckyPlaymonauttouches
downatSpaceportAmerica
SMAPwilluseanactivemicrowaveradarandapassiveradiometertomapouthowmoisttheplanetis.
Theantenna'sactiveradarbeamsdownmicrowavesthatpenetrateafewinchesofsoilinswathsa
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NASAtolaunchmicrowaveSPACELASSOtoprobeEarth'swetspotsTheRegister

milewide,andmeasuresthebackscatter[PDF]todeterminehowmuchwaterisinterferingwiththe
signal.
Theradiometerwillbedoingitsbesttopickupmicrowavesemittednaturallyfromtheplanetcaused
bywetsoil,whichwillbecomparedtotheactiveradar'sresults.
NASAhastobeverycarefulthatthesepassivesignalsaren'tbeingruinedbyinteference.The
problemisthathumankindisproducingalotofmicrowavesourselvesthesedays.SMAPuses
microwavelengthsthatarereservedforscientists,meaningnootherequipmentshouldbeusingthis

Postpubnoshneckfiller:The
fantasticalFrancesinha

spectrum,ideally.
MeasuringtheinfinitesimalchangesintheEarth'snaturalmicrowaveemissionsisadelicatebusiness,
andoneblastfromahumanmademicrowaveemittercanwreckthemeasurementsforanentire
scanningrunsoNASA'sworkedoutsomesignalprocessingalgorithmstofilteroutthenoiseas
muchaspossible.
"Theradiometerprovidesmoreaccuratesoilmoisturebutacoarseresolutionofabout40kilometres

BLASTOFF!BOATFREElaunchatlast.
OrionheadsforSPAAAAACE

[25miles]across,"saidJPL'sEniNjoku,aresearchscientistwithSMAP."Withtheradar,youcan
createveryhighresolution,butit'slessaccurate.Togetbothanaccurateandahighresolution
measurement,weprocessthetwosignalstogether."
SMAPwillorbittheplaneteverythreedaysforaslongastheinstrumentsandfundingpermits,
mappingoutthemoistnooksandcranniesoftheplanettohelpweatherandcropprediction,aswellas
gatheringdataonthecarboncyclesofEarth'svegetation.
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NASAtolaunchmicrowaveSPACELASSOtoprobeEarth'swetspotsTheRegister

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