SMAP At Work - NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive Satellite

The Alaska Satellite Facility is part of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

---------------------------

NASA's SMAP satellite will measure global soil moisture every three days for three years--including soil's freeze-thaw state. These measurements will be used to:

1) further understanding of processes that link the water, energy, and carbon cycles;
2) enhance weather and climate prediction models;
3) quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes; and
4) develop improved flood-prediction and drought-monitoring capabilities.

Observatory: The SMAP spacecraft features an instrument suite deployed by an expendable launch vehicle into a 680-km, near-polar, sun-synchronous orbit, with equator crossings at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. local time. SMAP provides global coverage within three days at the equator and two days at boreal latitudes.

Instrument: The instrument includes a radiometer and a synthetic aperture radar (SAR), operating at L-band (1.20-1.41 GHz), that measure surface emission and backscatter, sensing soil conditions through moderate vegetation cover.

Operations: SMAP science measurements will be acquired for three years. A comprehensive validation program will be carried out after launch to assess the accuracies of soil-moisture and freeze-thaw estimates. Data products from the SMAP mission will be made available through the Alaska Satellite Facility DAAC and the NSIDC DAAC.