NASA Launches New Mission to Improve Hurricane Forecasting
NASA has launched a new mission aimed at improving the forecasting of hurricanes as the Atlantic season of hurricanes 2023 begins on June 1. The new mission includes a group of cubes called Tropics, which will observe tropical cyclones with a low-Earth orbit. The first 2 cubes were launched on May 7 from Machia (New Zealand) on board the Rocket Lab Electron missiles. 2 more satellites will be launched from the same place in 2 weeks, making a total of 4 satellites. Each satellite weighs about 5.5 kg and is the size of a bread loaf.
The Tropics satellites will collect data on precipitation, temperature, and humidity every hour during the storms. For comparison, the existing meteorological satellites collect similar data every 6 hours, which complicates and slows down the measurement of the intensity of storms. The frequency of data collection at 1 hour allows scientists to understand instant changes that can occur inside the storm that impact its structure and stability and also helps meteorologists improve their forecasting models.
The data collected in real-time will also help determine where the hurricane will fall on land and how intense it will be. This will allow people living in coastal areas to better prepare for possible evacuation. The data collected by Tropics will be transmitted to the National Control on Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (NOAA), the United Center for Typhoon Warning (JTWC), the National Center for Hurricane (NHC), and other partners.
The Tropics observations will complement existing meteorological satellites and ultimately can be associated with a wider understanding of the entire Earth’s system. Satellites will measure water vapor, mainly located in the troposphere – the lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, where most weather phenomena occur. The launch is a significant achievement for NASA and will help in better forecasting of hurricanes, which will help in minimizing the loss of life and property.