by NASA is working to re-establish contact with one of the eight spacecraft that make up its Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) constellation, which monitors hurricanes.
CYGNSS is the first space-based system to collect frequent measurements of ocean surface wind speed near the eye of storms such as tropical cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes. However, the CYGNSS team last received data from the satellite designated FM06 around 4:32 p.m. EST (2132 GMT) on November 26, according to a Statement from NASA.
The remaining seven satellites that make up the CYGNSS constellation remain operational and have continued to collect scientific data since FM06 was placed in secrecy last month, according to the senior NASA official. statement about the incident. Constellation science work can continue without FM06, but if the team cannot reconnect with the spacecraft, the loss will reduce space coverage from CYGNSS, which until November provided nearly uninterrupted coverage of Earth.
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CYGNSS was designed by the University of Michigan and the Southwest Research Institute in Colorado with the goal of developing a better understanding of the interaction between sea and air near the eye of a storm. The University of Michigan took the lead in the development of CYGNSS following a $152 million investment from NASA in 2012. The microsatellite constellation was successfully launched on December 15, 2016 and achieved its key objectives scientists in March 2019. Since then, CYGNSS has been operating in extended mission status.
CYGNSS is unique because it is NASA’s first mission to perform remote sensing of the Earth’s surface using an existing Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), commonly used to locate a receiver and its user anywhere on Earth.
Although there are several GNSS systems, each a constellation of satellites, CYGNSS exclusively uses the US Global Positioning System (GPS).
The CYGNSS spacecraft act as sensors, receiving GPS pulse signals reflected from the Earth’s surface. Because these GPS signals operate at low microwave frequencies, they are able to penetrate the heavy clouds and rain associated with storms, allowing CYGNSS to measure wind speeds in the inner core of storms.
Scientists hope that this data could give them a better understanding of how tropical cyclones form, whether they will strengthen, and if so by how much. Ultimately, this knowledge could improve the forecasting and monitoring of tropical cyclones.
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