Vidulini
Two sophisticated European spacecraft SMOS and Proba-2 have been successful in the early morning of the 2nd November launched into space. Only the launch was done by Russian rockets nosilicom Rockot with former military raketodroma Plesetsk in northern Russia. After several dozen hours of both spacecraft successfully pulled its solar panels for power supply and the construction of a complex triangle-radio antennas necessary to perform measurements. Communication with the aircraft was successfully established. Over the next few months, followed by calibration and testing instruments, and then their perennial work. This whole project is worth around 350 million euros!
SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) project of the European Space Agency. The functioning of the aircraft will bring French Space Agency (CNES). Its purpose is to study and measure parameters and interaction between the ocean, air and soil and water salinity and soil moisture. In order to better understand climatic factors that influence the climate of our planet. SMOS was part of a large European project called the Earth Observation Envelope Programme, to which it belongs before the launch of GOCE spacecraft , which we already wrote.
SMOS spacecraft in Earth orbit, the art show
SMOS is the first spacecraft of its kind specifically designed to measure the salinity of water in the oceans and seas. For this purpose, equipped with as many as 69 specially designed antenna, mounted on a special structure in the shape of a triangle whose every page in length 3 m, which act as a single system to wavelengths of 23 cm (1.4 GHz). System called MIRAS and LICEFs work on the principle of interferometry. This mode is where each individual sensory systems independently of each other sending data to the computer, then it makes them more expensive, processed and presented as a final product sensor (antenna and receiver) is significantly larger physical dimensions than is the case here. When they used only one antenna with a comparable resolution to such an aircraft to large size could not launch into space to existing missiles!
The data will be in the next three years to collect complete SMOS will be executed with those earth stations and ultimately used in climatological expertise. Problems salinity water masses in the oceans is extremely important for long-term predictions of weather conditions on our planet. The mechanism of so-called. heat pumps are known from the textbooks as the Gulf Stream keeps climate as we know it. Disorders of salinity in the Atlantic Ocean disaster to reflect on our civilization, a move to "critical point" the Earth would be in a few years back in the right ice age. It may sound paradoxical, but "warm and hot years" and melting glaciers are actually an introduction to the process that ultimately bears the name "white Snowball" - ice-bound planet to the shores of the Adriatic Sea!
Proba-2, a European technology demonstrator 725 km above the Earth
The second aircraft, Proba-2 is much smaller and you can visualize it like a building-sized travel bag. It is part of ESA's General Support Technology Programme and is intended for research of new technologies that will be built over the years in unmanned spacecraft "Made in Europe". From Instrumentation Test-2 carries a digital sensor to study the Sun, high-precision magnetometer, a device for research in physics, GPS receivers, wide-angle camera and more. Proba-2 will be for two months probation and calibration of instruments to achieve full operating capability. Under the plan should remain operational within two years. SMOS is in orbit around the Earth 760 km above the surface, Proba-2 is positioned slightly lower at 725 km altitude.
Marino Tumpić
