43.SMAP

♤ NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite that can predict the severity of droughts worldwide and help farmers maximise crop yield.

♤ SMAP usestwo microwave instruments to monitor the top 5 centimetres of soil on Earth’s surface.

♤ Currently, there is no ground-or satellite-based global network monitoring soil moisture at a local level.SMAP’s data will provide an objective assessment of soil moisture to help farmers with their management strategy.

♤ At present, schedule modifications are based mostly on growers’ observations and experience. Some farmers handle drought by changing irrigation patterns,SMAP’s measurements could fill a significant void.

♤ SMAP observations will be used to characterize hydrologic and ecosystem processes including land- atmosphere exchanges of water, energy, and carbon and will play an important role in improved disaster preparation and response