New York. Experts about him space commented on what will happen when three satellites of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (POT) go out.
According to what they said, the satellites, which each weigh as much as an elephant, are drifting, losing altitude little by little.
Likewise, these devices have been observing planet Earth for more than two decades, helping to forecast weather, manage forest fires, monitor oil spills, among other things.
However, the years weigh heavily and soon they would be sending their last transmissions and their slow fall to earth will begin.
“When the three orbiters (Terra, Aqua and Aura) shut down, much of the data they have been collecting will end with them, and the newer satellites will not take over,” NASA experts say.
Susan Solomon, an atmospheric chemist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said: “Losing this irreplaceable data is simply tragic.”
He also added: “Just when the planet most needs us to focus on understanding how it affects us and how we are affecting it, it seems that we are disastrously asleep at the wheel,” he said.
End of Terra, Aqua and Aura
According to The New York Times, last year, NASA polled scientists for ideas about how the end of Terra, Aqua and Aura would affect their work.
So in their letters, which The New York Times obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, investigators expressed concern.
These satellites have contributed throughout history to collecting information about particles in smoke from forest fires.
Likewise, the dust of the desert, the volcanic columns, measurements of the thickness of the clouds.
Also, fine-scale maps of the world’s forests, grasslands, wetlands and crops.
As scientists emphasized, the end of the Terra and Aqua satellites will affect the way we monitor another important factor in our climate.
It will be difficult to measure how much solar radiation the planet receives, absorbs and bounces back into space.
Waleed Abdalati, former NASA chief scientist now at the University of Colorado Boulder, noted: “We got hooked on these satellites. We are victims of our own success,” said Dr. Abdalati.
With information from The New York Times.
