The US space agency is ready to launch a satellite to observe levels of salt on the surface of the world’s oceans and how changes in salinity may be linked to future climate, Nasa said on Friday.
“The Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft has been closed out for flight and is ready for launch,” Nasa said. The launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is set for 7.20 am Pacific time (1420 GMT).
The weather forecast on Friday showed a 100 per cent change of favorable launch conditions.
The orbiting science instrument will aim to map the entire open ocean every seven days from its position 408 miles (657 kilometers) above Earth, producing monthly estimates that show how salt levels change over time and location.
While a European satellite was launched in 2009 to measure soil moisture and ocean salinity, the Aquarius/SAC-D is a global collaboration — with partner Argentina as well as France, Brazil, Canada and Italy — that will add to scientists’ knowledge of the oceans in novel ways, Nasa said.
Earlier in 2011, Nasa lost Glory, a $424 million Earth-observing satellite that failed to separate properly from its rocket launcher and plunged into the ocean.