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| | | | | | | SMOS forms three-pointed star in the sky
3 November 2009
| The SMOS mission makes global observations of soil moisture over Earth’s landmasses and salinity over the oceans. Variations in soil moisture and ocean salinity are a consequence of the continuous exchange of water between the oceans, the atmosphere and the land – Earth’s water cycle.
Credits: ESA/AOES Medialab | |  |  | |
| | | | | Carried on the SMOS satellite, the MIRAS instrument consists of a central structure and three deployable arms, each of which has three segments. During launch, these arms are folded-up. Just over 36 hours after SMOS has been injected into orbit, the arms are gently deployed.
Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab | | | | |
| | | | | Mission Control at the French space agency CNES, in Toulouse, France, received confirmation that the MIRAS antennas had deployed on 3 November 2009.
Credits: CNES | | | | |
| | | | | To measure the moisture in soil and salt in the oceans, SMOS has borrowed techniques used in radio astronomy. The 69 small antennas carried on the instrument's Y-shaped arms and central hub use 'aperture synthesis' or 'interferometry' to mimic a much larger antenna - similar to the way the Very Large Array works in Socorro, New Mexico, US.
Credits: ESA - AOES Medialab | | | | |
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| | SMOS launch Replay the launch Related news Two new ESA satellites successfully lofted into orbitSMOS and Proba-2 ready for launchOperations teams ready for SMOSSMOS opens armsRelated links CNESThales Alenia SpaceEADS-CASAEurockot Launch ServicesESA on Youtube  Earth ExplorersChoose a language  Noticia completa Koko tarina Artigo completo
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