OrbitalHub

Wikipedia dixit:

“The Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is a satellite designed to investigate changes in the Earth’s ionosphere. ICON will study the interaction between Earth’s weather systems and space weather driven by the Sun, and how this interaction drives turbulence in the upper atmosphere. It is hoped that a better understanding of this dynamic will mitigate its effects on communications, GPS signals, and technology in general. It is part of NASA’s Explorers program and will be operated by UC Berkeley’s Space Sciences Laboratory.

Once launched, ICON will perform a two-year mission to observe conditions in both the thermosphere and ionosphere. ICON will be equipped with four instruments: a Michelson interferometer, built by the United States Naval Research Laboratory, will measure the winds and temperatures in the thermosphere; an ion drift meter, built by UT Dallas, will measure the motion of charged particles in the ionosphere; and two ultraviolet imagers built at UC Berkeley will observe the airglow layers in the upper atmosphere in order to determine both ionospheric and thermospheric density and composition.

Many low-Earth orbiting satellites, including the International Space Station, fly through the ionosphere and can be affected by its changing electric and magnetic fields. The ionosphere also acts as a conduit for many communications signals, such as radio waves and the signals that make GPS systems work. The ionosphere is where space weather manifests, creating unpredicted conditions such as electric currents that can cause electrical charging of satellites, changing density that can affect satellite orbits, and shifting magnetic fields that can induce current in power systems, causing strain, disrupt communications and navigation or even blackouts. Improved understanding of this environment can help predict such events and improve satellite design.”

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“Every year, the ozone hole over Antarctica reaches an annual maximum extent during southern winter. The depletion of ozone by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) happens faster at colder temperatures and slows down as temperatures warm, so each October, the ozone layer begins to heal again for the year.

Scientists from NASA and NOAA work together to track the ozone layer throughout the year and determine when the hole reaches its annual maximum extent. This year, the South Pole region of Antarctica was slightly colder than the previous few years, so the ozone hole grew larger. However, scientists from NASA have developed models to predict what the ozone layer would have looked like without the Montreal Protocol, which banned the release of CFCs. Although the 2018 hole was slightly larger than that of 2017 or 2016, it was still much smaller than it would have been without the Montreal Protocol.”

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“Operation IceBridge is NASA’s longest-running aerial survey of polar ice. During the survey, designed to assess changes in the ice height of several glaciers draining into the Larsen A, B and C embayments, IceBridge senior support scientist Jeremy Harbeck saw a very sharp-angled, tabular iceberg floating among sea ice just off of the Larsen C ice shelf.”

Video Credit: NASA

ESA dixit:

“The European Space Agency demonstrates its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals through the activities promoted by its ten directorates. Satellite data and space applications, as well as space technologies, play a major role in addressing issues ranging from health care and education through to climate change and human migration. ESA’s multifaceted technical expertise can provide policy makers, aid organisations and private companies with the necessary tools to support economic growth, social development and environmental protection.”

Video Credit: ESA

NASA dixit:

“NASA’s GPM Core Observatory satellite captured an image of Super Typhoon Yutu when it flew over the powerful storm just as the center was striking the central Northern Mariana Islands north of Guam. Early Thursday, October 25 local time, Super Typhoon Yutu crossed over the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. It was the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane. The National Weather Service in Guam said it was the strongest storm to hit any part of the U.S. this year.

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite, which is managed by both NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA analyzed Yutu on October 24 at 11:07 a.m. EDT (1507 UTC)/ 1:07 a.m. Guam Time, October 25. GPM estimated rain rates within Super Typhoon Yutu fusing data from two instruments aboard: the GPM Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar or DPR, which covered the inner part of the storm, and the GPM Microwave Imager or GMI that analyzed the outer swath, just as the center was passing over the Island of Tinian.”

Video Credit: NASA Goddard

NASA dixit:

“Working from a combination of satellite records and declassified submarine sonar data, NASA scientists have constructed a 60-year record of Arctic sea ice thickness. Right now, Arctic sea ice is the youngest and thinnest its been since we started keeping records. More than 70 percent of Arctic sea ice is now seasonal, which means it grows in the winter and melts in the summer, but doesn’t last from year to year. This seasonal ice melts faster and breaks up easier, making it much more susceptible to wind and atmospheric conditions.”

Video Credit: NASA Goddard