NASA to send powerful instrument into space to monitor air pollution

washington (Best Hindu News): The US space agency on Saturday launched a powerful new instrument into space to monitor air pollution, providing an unprecedented solution to monitor major air pollutants. The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument will improve life on Earth by revolutionizing the way scientists observe air quality from space.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said, “The TEMPO mission is about much more than just studying pollution—it’s about improving life for everyone on Earth. By monitoring the effects of everything from congested traffic to pollution from wildfires and volcanoes, NASA data will help improve air quality across North America and protect our planet.”

NASA’s Tempo was launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

From a fixed geostationary orbit above the equator, TEMPO will be the first space-based instrument to measure air quality in North America during the day and over spatial areas of several square miles, far better than the current limit of about 100 square miles .

The data will play a key role in the scientific analysis of pollution, including studies of rush hour pollution, the potential for better air quality alerts, the effects of lightning on ozone, the movement of pollution from wildfires and volcanoes, and even the effects of fertilizer application. Are.

NASA said Tempo’s observations will dramatically improve the scientific data record on air pollution not only over the continental US, but also over parts of Canada, Mexico, Cuba, the Bahamas and the island of Hispaniola.

From its geostationary orbit, TEMPO will also form part of an air quality satellite virtual constellation that will track pollution around the Northern Hemisphere.

“This marks a new era in our ability to observe air pollution in North America, including the entire continental US,” said Barry Leffer, TEMPO program scientist.