![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/prefirelaunch2060524.jpg\")
<\/a><\/figure>The second of NASA\u2019s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) two satellites is communicating with ground controllers after launching at 3:15 p.m. NZST, Wednesday (11:15 p.m. EDT, June 4). Data from these two shoebox-size cube satellites, or CubeSats, will better predict how Earth\u2019s ice, seas, and weather will change in a warming world \u2014 providing information to help humanity thrive on our changing planet. \u00a0<\/p>\n
The CubeSat launched on top Rocket Lab\u2019s Electron rocket from the company\u2019s Launch Complex 1 in M\u0101hia, New Zealand, and follows the May 25 launch of the first PREFIRE CubeSat. After a 30-day checkout period, when engineers and scientists confirm both CubeSats are operating normally, the mission is expected to operate for 10 months.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy helping to clarify the role that Earth\u2019s polar regions play in regulating our planet\u2019s energy budget, the PREFIRE mission will ultimately help improve climate and ice models,\u201d said Amanda Whitehurst, PREFIRE program executive, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. \u201cImproved models will benefit humanity by giving us a better idea of how our climate and weather patterns will change in the coming years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Capitalizing on NASA\u2019s unique vantage point in space, PREFIRE will help understand the balance between incoming heat energy from the Sun and the outgoing heat given off at Earth\u2019s poles. The Arctic and Antarctica act something like the radiator in a car\u2019s engine shedding much of the heat initially absorbed at the tropics back into space. The majority of that heat is emitted as far-infrared radiation. The water vapor content of the atmosphere, along with the presence, structure, and composition of clouds, influences the amount of radiation that escapes into space from the poles.<\/p>\n
The PREFIRE mission will give researchers information on where and when far-infrared energy radiates from the Arctic and Antarctic environments into space. The mission also will use its two CubeSats in asynchronous, near-polar orbits to study how relatively short-lived phenomena like cloud formation, moisture changes, and ice sheet melt affect far-infrared emissions over time. The two satellites pass over the same part of Earth at different times of day, giving researchers information on changing conditions.<\/p>\n
\u201cClimate change is reshaping our environment and atmosphere in ways that we need to prepare for,\u201d said Brian Drouin, PREFIRE\u2019s deputy principal investigator at NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. \u201cThis mission will give us new measurements of the far-infrared wavelengths being emitted from Earth\u2019s poles, which we can use to improve climate and weather models and help people around the world deal with the consequences of climate change.\u201d<\/p>\n
Each CubeSat carries an instrument called a thermal infrared spectrometer, which uses specially shaped mirrors and sensors to measure infrared wavelengths. Miniaturizing the instruments to fit on CubeSats required downsizing some parts while scaling up other components.<\/p>\n
\u201cEquipped with advanced infrared sensors that are more sensitive than any similar instrument, the PREFIRE CubeSats will help us better understand Earth\u2019s polar regions and improve our climate models,\u201d said Laurie Leshin, director at NASA JPL. \u201cTheir observations will lead to more accurate predictions about sea level rise, weather patterns, and changes in snow and ice cover, which will help us navigate the challenges of a warming world.\u201d<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s Launch Services Program, based out of the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in partnership with NASA\u2019s Earth System Science Pathfinder Program, is providing the launch service as part of the agency\u2019s Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR<\/a>) launch services contract.<\/p>\n The PREFIRE mission was jointly developed by NASA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. NASA JPL manages the mission for the agency\u2019s Science Mission Directorate and provided the spectrometers. Blue Canyon Technologies built the CubeSats and the University of Wisconsin-Madison will process the data the instruments collect. The launch services provider is Rocket Lab USA Inc. of Long Beach, California.<\/p>\n To learn more about PREFIRE, visit:<\/p>\n https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/mission\/prefire\/<\/a><\/p>\n -end-<\/p>\n Karen Fox \/ Elizabeth Vlock<\/p>\n Headquarters, Washington<\/p>\n 202-358-1600<\/p>\n karen.c.fox@nasa.gov<\/a> \/ elizabeth.a.vlock@nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n Jane J. Lee \/ Andrew Wang<\/p>\n Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.<\/p>\n 818-354-0307 \/ 626-379-6874<\/p>\n jane.j.lee@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a> \/ andrew.wang@jpl.nasa.gov<\/a><\/p>\n Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n Get The Details…<\/a> The second of NASA\u2019s PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) two satellites is communicating with ground controllers after launching at 3:15 p.m. NZST, Wednesday (11:15 p.m. EDT, June 4). Data from these two shoebox-size cube satellites, or CubeSats, will better predict how Earth\u2019s ice, seas, and weather will change in a warming world [\u2026] Continue reading
\nJennifer M. Dooren <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"