Two new ESA satellites successfully lofted into orbit, one with a major climate mission

European Space Agency: The second satellite in ESA’s Earth Explorer series – the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission – and the second demonstration satellite under ESA’s Project for Onboard Autonomy (Proba-2) were launched into orbit last night from northern Russia.

SMOS will play a key role in the monitoring of climate change on a global scale. It is the first ever satellite designed both to map sea surface salinity and to monitor soil moisture on a global scale. It features a unique interferometric radiometer that will enable passive surveying of the water cycle between oceans, the atmosphere and land.

…"The data collected by SMOS will complement measurements already performed on the ground and at sea to monitor water exchanges on a global scale. Since these exchanges – most of which occur in remote areas – directly affect the weather, they are of paramount importance to meteorologists" said Volker Liebig, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes. "Moreover, salinity is one of the drivers for the Thermohaline Circulation, the large network of currents that steers heat exchanges within the oceans on a global scale, and its survey has long been awaited by climatologists who try to predict the long-term effects of today’s climate change," Liebig added, witnessing the launch from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.

SMOS is the second satellite launched under the Earth Explorer programme conducted by ESA to foster the acquisition of new environmental data for the science community. It follows the Gravity and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE), also launched on a Rockot, in March 2009. More Earth Explorers are already undergoing preparation. Cryosat-2, which will measure the thickness of the ice sheets, is due for launch in February 2010. It will be followed by ADM-Aeolus to study atmospheric dynamics and the Swarm mission to monitor the weakening of the Earth’s magnetic field, in 2011, as well as by the EarthCARE mission on clouds and aerosols in 2013….

The SMOS and Proba-2 lift off, on 2 November 2009 at 02:50 CET (01:50 UT) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia. Photo by ESA