Global rainfall satellite inilunsad ng NASA, JAXA

Ni Florenda Corpuz

Kuha ng NASA/Bill Ingalls

Isang Japanese rocket ang inilunsad kamakailan sa Tanegashima Space Center, Tanegashima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, dala ang isang high-tech na instrumento na susukat sa dami ng ulan at niyebe.

           

Sakay ng H-IIA rocket ang $900 million satellite na tinawag na Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory na joint Earth-observing mission ng NASA at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency o JAXA.

“With this launch, we have taken another giant leap in providing the world with an unprecedented picture of our planet's rain and snow,” ani NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

“GPM will help us better understand our ever-changing climate, improve forecasts of extreme weather events like floods, and assist decision makers around the world to better manage water resources,” dagdag pa nito.

Idinisenyo ang GPM para makapagbigay ng mas detalyadong impormasyon tungkol sa global precipitation. Made-detect din nito ang mahinang pag-ulan at pagpatak ng niyebe.

Inaasahan na malaki ang maitutulong ng GPM sa pagpapabuti ng kapasidad ng Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission o TRMM na joint mission din ng NASA at JAXA na inilunsad noong 1997 at hanggang ngayon ay patuloy pa rin.   

           

“It is incredibly exciting to see this spacecraft launch,” sabi ni GPM Project Manager Art Azarbarzin. “This is the moment that the GPM Team has been working toward since 2006. The GPM Core Observatory is the product of a dedicated team at Goddard, JAXA and others worldwide. Soon, as GPM begins to collect precipitation observations, we'll see these instruments at work providing real-time information for the scientists about the intensification of storms, rainfall in remote areas and so much more.”

Ang GPM ay una sa limang earth science missions na planong ilunsad ng NASA ngayong taon. Ito ay binuo sa Goddard at pinakamalaking spacecraft na ginawa rito. Taglay nito ang dalawang instrumento na susukat sa dami ng ulan at niyebe kada tatlong oras – ang  GPM Microwave Imager mula sa NASA at Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) na nilinang naman ng JAXA at National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Tokyo.