|
The Aeolus mission will provide scientists with
data on winds in remote areas, such as over oceans, that they
have not been able to get from weather balloons, ground stations
and airplanes but which are crucial to predicting changes in
weather.
"Forecasting is of course still limited, but then we will
certainly be able to understand the processes better that lead
to extreme weather phenomena," Paolo Ferri, the European Space
Agency's (ESA) head of mission operations, told Reuters TV ahead
of the launch.
Many scientists warn that global warming will result in more
frequent and intense heatwaves, precipitation and storms,
causing billions of euros in damage and costing thousands of
human lives every year.
Better weather forecasts will allow scientists to warn the
population when hurricanes are heading their way and predict
weather patterns such as El Niño, which can cause crop damage,
fires and flash floods.
The Aeolus mission - named after a character of Greek mythology
who was appointed keeper of the winds - is scheduled to blast
off from Europe's space port in Kourou, French Guiana, on board
a Vega rocket at 2120 GMT (6.20 pm local time) on Wednesday.
The launch was pushed back by a day from Tuesday due to winds
over the space port.
Aeolus will be equipped with an instrument dubbed Aladin, short
for Atmospheric Laser Doppler Instrument, that will use a
powerful laser, a large telescope and a very sensitive receiver
to probe the atmosphere.
The laser system is designed to generate a series of short light
pulses in the ultraviolet spectrum, which is invisible to the
naked eye, and then collect light that is backscattered from
particles of gas and dust and droplets of water in the
atmosphere.
The time between sending the light pulse and receiving the
reflected signal indicates the position of particles in the
atmosphere and allows Aladin to track the speed at which they
move in the wind.
Scientists hope the Aeolus mission will deliver the first set of
data to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway, early next year
and keep operating for around three to four years.
At that point, Aeolus is expected to run out of fuel as its
relatively low altitude of around 320 kilometers (200 miles)
means it is exposed to friction from Earth's atmosphere,
requiring it to correct its position frequently.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Douglas Busvine, Richard
Balmforth)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
