NASA has once against decided to collaborate with Elon Musk's private space agency SpaceX to launch a special mission in 2021. This mission involves the launch of a satellite to conduct a survey of surface water present on Earth.
While NASA has collaborated with SpaceX in the past as well for several future missions, the recent one is a bit special as it focuses on Earth. The first of its kind mission will put a satellite into Earth's orbit in the next five years, according to Inverse.com.
The mission has been dubbed SWOT, which stands for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission. For the first time in the history, a satellite will be launched as a part of this mission to conduct a global survey of the Earth's surface water.
The satellite will be designed to survey 90 percent of the planet's surface twice in every 21 days. This will be done to study how waters bodies, primarily oceans and rivers, change over a period of time.
As a part of the mission, the satellite will study all major water bodies - including oceans, rivers and small freshwater reservoirs. The scientists aim to study the data collected by the satellite to develop better ocean circulation models and conduct better freshwater management. In addition, it is believed that the mission will also help in making better predictions related to the climate and weather.
According to Satellite Today, the entire mission would cost NASA around $112 millions. The cost of the project includes the launch of the satellite, payload integration, tracking, spacecraft processing and data and telemetry support.
As of now, both NASA and SpaceX are planning a April 2021 launch for the satellite with the help of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The lift off is expected to happen from the Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
The launch service at SpaceX will be managed by NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The SWOT project office is based in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
