NASA’a quest to complete world’s knowledge and understanding of climate change continues with their latest mission ARISE. As of now until the end of October, various high-tech instruments placed on board of a C-130 plane will be measuring radiation levels and Arctic sea ice thickness.
Climate change has an influence on every aspect of our lives– from food and fresh water resources, all the way to energy production and consumption. The way our utility companies, insurance companies and the entire food industry work is determined by the rate and intensity of Intensified natural disasters and rising temperatures, caused by record-high concentrations of pollutants in the atmosphere.
Most scientific research is now directed towards studying the causes, making predictions for the future of our climate, and looking for ways to reverse the effects and somehow minimize the consequences.
NASA is definitely on top of it all, especially when it comes to data collection. They have already initiated a great deal of projects and missions that are actively gathering information about our environment, and it seems they are not planning to stop soon.
Their latest airborne mission called Arctic Radiation IceBridge Sea and Ice Experiment (ARISE), has yet again managed to turn quite a number of heads around, not only because of the technology that is involved, but also because of the speed with which Christy Hansen, the project manager of ARISE, and her team, managed to get it up and running.
In a space of only seven months, the NASA’s team arranged all logistics, prepared an airplane, equipped it with numerous lasers and high-tech radiometers, and scheduled the flights over the Arctics for the entire summer season. Their aim is to collect enough information on the amount of incoming solar radiation that hits the ice and causes it to melt. In addition, they will be estimating the effect clouds have on ice melt and consequently our climate.
The ambitious mission will be ongoing for the coming months until October, which should cover the time of the year when melting of ice is most intensive.
Image (c) NASA
