OrbitalHub

NASA dicit:

Hurricanes are some of the most powerful and destructive weather events on Earth. To help study these powerful storms, NASA is launching TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats), a collection of six small satellites designed to measure storm strength by detecting the thermal radiation naturally emitted by the oxygen and water vapor in the air.

In June 2021, NASA launched a test version of the satellite, called a pathfinder, ahead of the constellation of six weather satellites planned for launch in 2022. When launched, the TROPICS satellites will work together to provide near-hourly microwave observations of a storm’s precipitation, temperature, and humidity. The mission is expected to help scientists understand the factors driving tropical cyclone intensification and to improve forecasting models.

Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio/Katie Jepson (KBRwyle): Producer/Ellen T. Gray (ADNET): Writer/William Blackwell (MIT): Scientist/Jonathan North (KBRwyle): Animator/Adriana Manrique Gutierrez (USRA): Animator/Katie Jepson (KBRwyle): Animator/Taylor Johnson: Narration

NASA dicit:

Hundreds of meltwater lakes hide deep beneath the expanse of Antarctica’s ice sheet. With a powerful laser altimeter system in space, NASA’s Ice Cloud and land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) is helping scientists “see” under the ice.

Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center/Scientific Visualization Studio/Jefferson Beck (KBRwyle): Lead Producer/Roberto Molar Candanosa (KBR): Lead Writer/Helen-Nicole Kostis (USRA): Lead Visualizer/Helen Amanda Fricker (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego): Lead Scientist/Matthew R. Siegfried (Colorado School of Mines): Lead Scientist

NASA dicit:

How close can spacecraft get to the Sun without burning up? That may be a topic of hot debate but researchers are working on a concept to get closer than ever before. This is the NASA Innovative Advanced Concept (NIAC) that explores the capabilities and benefits of a new solar protection system.

This video represents a research study within the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. NIAC is a visionary and far-reaching aerospace program, one that has the potential to create breakthrough technologies for possible future space missions. However, such early stage technology developments may never become actual NASA missions.

Video credit: NASA 360