A NEWLY launched satellite will enable us for the first time to watch for signs of climate change on a global scale. The Smos spacecraft will be able to detect sudden melting in polar regions but also monitor changes in the great ocean currents that stabilise our weather.
The Smos (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) satellite was successfully launched from a Russian base at 1.50am Irish time yesterday in tandem with another probe that has strong Irish involvement.
The Proba-2 satellite was lifted into orbit yesterday, piggybacking on the Smos spacecraft. Researchers from Trinity College Dublin are deeply involved in the Proba-2 programme and yesterday expressed their delight at the successful twin launch.
The two satellites are now orbiting along slightly different trajectories about 750km above the earth’s surface, said Dr Peter Gallagher who heads the solar physics group at Trinity.
Both satellites have also woken up and are apparently in full working order. It will now take some weeks to commission them fully so they can begin to send back usable data.
Smos is the second satellite in the European Space Agency’s “Earth Explorer” series. It will be able to monitor climate change by measuring both moisture levels in soil but also the salinity of the oceans.
It is the first satellite of its kind and will be able to detect small changes in ocean salinity, a possible sign of increased ice melting from the poles. Salt levels are also key because they drive the ocean currents including the Gulf Stream which helps moderate our own weather despite Ireland’s northerly location.
Proba-2 is the second demonstration satellite in ESA’s Project for Onboard Autonomy. It will demonstrate 17 advanced satellite technologies including sensors and cameras, but will also send back scientific data about the sun and its atmosphere.
Proba-2’s main contractor is the Royal Observatory of Belgium, but Trinity’s solar group is also deeply involved in the project, Dr Gallagher said. It will monitor solar activity and also watch for the formation of solar storms.
The twin payloads were “launched at 1.50am Irish time” yesterday morning, he said. He and others in the group were joined by the Belgium Ambassador and by a representative from the Russian Federation embassy in Dublin at the Science Gallery at Trinity for a special “launch party”.
Dr Gallagher was able to watch the launch live, which took place at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome 800km north of Moscow on board a converted intercontinental ballistic missile. “It was nerve wracking because it was foggy and it made it look like the rocket was on fire,” he said yesterday.
Once fully commissioned the Smos probe will be able to image 1,000 square kilometres of the earth’s surface every 1.2 seconds.
Proba-2 ranks as one of ESA’s smallest satellites, measuring less than a cubic metre and weighing just 130kg, Dr Gallagher said.