George Diller, NASA Launch Commentator: "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, engine start and liftoff of a
Delta II rocket with SMAP, making global observations of solar moisture for climate forecasting."
SMAP is NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite launched Jan. 31, 2015, from Vandenberg
Air Force Base in California. The spacecraft is providing accurate, high-resolution global
measurements of soil moisture from space.
By detecting whether soils are frozen or thawed, scientists believe SMAP can aid in better
understanding the links between the Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles.
In certain climates, scientists believe soil moisture is so influential that better observations
and improved weather forecasting may improve crop growth in agriculturally productive areas
of the American Midwest. In this region, climates are transitional: not too humid and not too
dry. Better predictions may not only lead to improved crop yields, but also aid in monitoring
and predicting natural hazards such as floods and droughts.
Several months after launch, SMAP mission managers determined that its radar, one of
the satellite’s two science instruments, no longer can return data. However, the mission
to map global soil moisture levels, continues to produce high-quality science measurements
supporting SMAP’s objectives with its radiometer instrument.