SMAP Soil Moisture Active Passive (NASA)
SMAP maps the water in Earth's soil from space, helping improve predictions of weather, floods and droughts (NASA).
Image: NASA/JPL (PIA23534).
Last reviewed: 3 sources cited
Explain Like I'm 10
- SMAP is a satellite that measures how wet or dry the ground is.
- It can also tell if the soil is frozen or thawed.
- This helps farmers and scientists get ready for floods and droughts.
The Five W's of SMAP
Who
NASA. The mission is run from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Source: NASA JPL, SMAP
What
A satellite with a A tool that sends out radio waves and listens for the echoes. From space it can see the ground through clouds, day or night. Glossary, a radiometer and the largest rotating mesh antenna ever deployed in space, 20 feet (6 meters) wide.
Source: NASA JPL, SMAP
Where
It launched on a Delta II rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, and orbits Earth mapping soils worldwide.
Source: NASA JPL, SMAP
Why
Soil moisture links Earth's water, energy and carbon cycles, so mapping it improves predictions of weather, climate, floods and droughts.
Source: NASA, SMAP
Impact Statement
Agency solution · active
SMAP maps soil moisture and whether soils are frozen or thawed across the globe (NASA).
Source: NASA, SMAP
For Further Information: NASA, SMAP
SMAP's 20-foot (6-meter) "golden lasso" antenna is the largest rotating mesh antenna ever deployed in space (NASA JPL).
How This Saves People & the Planet
For People
Better forecasts of floods and droughts help communities and farmers prepare (NASA).
Source: NASA, SMAP
For Nature
Soil moisture connects the water, energy and carbon cycles that all life depends on (NASA).
Source: NASA, SMAP
Get Involved With SMAP
Want to go deeper? NASA has the full SMAP story.
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