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Pasadena CA (JPL) Jan 27, 2011 Technicians from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., completed the installation of thermal blankets on NASA's Aquarius instrument last week, as the Aquarius/Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC-D) spacecraft continued functional performance tests at Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (Laboratorio de Integracao e Testes - Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais, or LIT-INPE) in Sao Jose dos Campos. Activities are proceeding on schedule for shipment of the spacecraft to California's Vandenberg Air Force Base in late March for a launch in early June. Aquarius/SAC-D is an international mission involving NASA and Argentina's space agency, Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales. Aquarius, the primary instrument on the mission, was built jointly by JPL and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. It will provide monthly global maps of how the concentration of dissolved salt (known as salinity) varies on the ocean surface. Salinity is a key tracer for understanding the ocean's role in Earth's water cycle and understanding ocean circulation. By measuring ocean salinity from space, Aquarius will provide new insights into how the massive natural interplay of freshwater moving among the ocean, atmosphere and sea ice influences Earth's ocean circulation, weather and climate.
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Related Links Aquarius Space Technology News - Applications and Research
LockMart To Enhance Space Systems Development With Opening Of New Virtual LaboratoryDenver CO (SPX) Jan 25, 2011 Lockheed Martin plans to increase the affordability and efficiency of space system development with the opening of a new advanced technology and virtual simulation facility, known as the Collaborative Human Immersive Laboratory (CHIL). The CHIL, located at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company headquarters in Littleton, Colo., integrates several virtual reality technologies enabling engine ... read more |
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