Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity

SMOS
Artist's view of SMOS
Mission typeEarth observation
OperatorESA
COSPAR ID2009-059A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.36036
Websitewww.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/SMOS
Mission durationPlanned: 3 years
Elapsed: 14 years, 11 months, 4 days
Spacecraft properties
BusProteus
ManufacturerThales Alenia Space
CNES
Launch mass658 kilograms (1,451 lb)
Dry mass630 kilograms (1,390 lb)
Dimensions2.4 by 2.3 metres (7.9 ft × 7.5 ft) (diameter)
Powerup to 1065 watts
Start of mission
Launch date2 November 2009, 14:21:00 (2009-11-02UTC14:21Z) UTC[1]
RocketRokot/Briz-KM
Launch sitePlesetsk 133/3
ContractorEurockot
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeSun-synchronous
Perigee altitude765 kilometres (475 mi)[2]
Apogee altitude766 kilometres (476 mi)[2]
Inclination98.44 degrees[2]
Period100.02 minutes[2]
Repeat interval23 days
Epoch25 January 2015, 00:45:13 UTC[2]
Transponders
BandS Band (TT&C support)
X Band (science data acquisition)
Bandwidthup to 722 kbit/s download (S Band)
up to 18.4 Mbit/s download (X Band)
up to 4 kbit /s upload (S Band)
Instruments
MIRAS: Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis
← GOCE

Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) is a satellite which forms part of ESA's Living Planet Programme. It is intended to provide new insights into Earth's water cycle and climate. In addition, it is intended to provide improved weather forecasting and monitoring of snow and ice accumulation.[3][4][5][6]

  1. ^ "Two new ESA satellites successfully lofted into orbit". ESA. 2009-11-01. Retrieved 2013-10-18.
  2. ^ a b c d e "SMOS Satellite details 2009-059A NORAD 36036". N2YO. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
  3. ^ ESA's water mission SMOS European Space Agency
  4. ^ SMOS Project Team, The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) Mission Archived 2006-05-06 at the Wayback Machine European Space Agency
  5. ^ SMOS Special Issue of ESA Bulletin ESA Bulletin Special Issue 137, February 2009
  6. ^ SMOS: The Challenging Sea Surface Salinity Measurement from Space, J. Font, A. Camps, A. Borges, M. Martin-Neira, J. Boutin, N. Reul, Y. Kerr, A. Hahne and S. Mecklenburg, Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 98, no. 5, May 2010, pp. 649-665