On January 29, 2015, NASA will launch its soil moisture mapper satellite, SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive). An innovative satellite with a golden spinning lasso, SMAP will peer into the top 2 inches (5 cm) of the soil and provide global measurements of the water it finds every 2-3 days. Why does soil moisture matter? Besides being a integral part of our understanding of Earth’s water, energy and carbon cycles, the study of soil moisture has many applications, including agriculture. Soil moisture strongly affects plant growth and hence agricultural productivity, especially during conditions of water shortage and drought. SMAP’s data on soil moisture will help improve crop yield forecasts and irrigation planning around the world.
For more info visit: https://smap.jpl.nasa.gov/
Image credit: NASA
