An unmanned Delta 2 rocket lifted off from California on Saturday carrying a NASA satellite to measure how much water is in Earth’s soil, information that will help weather forecasting and tracking of global climate change.
The tiny amount of soil moisture links the planet’s overall environmental systems – its water, energy and carbon cycles - as well as determines whether particular regions are afflicted with drought or flooding.
The 127-foot (39 meter) rocket, built and flown by United Launch Alliance, blasted off at 6:22 a.m. PST/1422 GMT from Vandenberg Air Force Base, located on California’s central coast, a live NASA Television broadcast showed.
Perched on top on the rocket was NASA’s 2,100-pound (950 kg) SMAP, which will spend at least three years measuring the amount of water in the top 2 inches of Earth’s soil.
Overall, soil moisture accounts for less than 1 percent of the planet’s total water reservoir, with 97 percent in the planet’s oceans and nearly all of the rest locked in ice.
Currently, scientists rely largely on computer models to account for soil moisture.
But from its orbital perch 426 miles (685 km) above Earth, SMAP has two microwave instruments to collect actual soil moisture measurements everywhere on Earth and update the measurements every two- to three days.
Including the launch and three years of operations, the mission is costing NASA $916 million. United Launch Alliance is a partnership of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co.
PHOTO: The launch gantry is rolled back to reveal the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory onboard, at the Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California January 28, 2015.
CREDIT: REUTERS/BILL INGALLS/NASA/HANDOUT.