European Space Agency launches flood-predicting, earth monitoring satellite
By Laura June 
posted Nov 3rd 2009 12:01PM
posted Nov 3rd 2009 12:01PM
On Sunday (the first of November) the European Space Agency launched a new satellite from a Russian rocket. This one, named the European Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite has a few very important jobs to do. For the next 3-5 years, the satellite will gather data about the circulation patterns in Earth's oceans and the moisture in its soil. The collected information will hopefully be used to forecast weather patterns such as droughts and flood risks. Check out the video after the break for a detailed explanation and a peek at the satellite of love itself.
[Via Inhabitat]
[Via Inhabitat]
Couldn't have come anytime sooner, now we need one to detect underwater earthquakes.
Yea, underwater flooding is a bitch to clean up.
"Couldn't have come anytime sooner"
Sure it could...
Tsunami fool.
Such a vital requirement with the situation we are facing in todays world, flooding, global warming and all that.
Say Global Warming is a Myth! ;-)
Is there more flooding... or more televised flooding... I'll let you find that information.
Or more politicians and such interested in using floods, because I think they were on TV plenty all the time but now they might try to exploit them more than usual.
Anyway it seems this satellite will provide usable info that's interesting even when that global warming thing has long blown over, if you pardon the pun, and for people not too into that discussion actually, or not interested in floods at all actually.
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i love technology!!!
I predict any data collected will confirm anthropological global warming. Perhaps it can also be built to continuously broadcast "Give a hoot; Don't produce carbon." in 250 languages
They should have consulted a Republican or their friends at Fox News before launch. You see, they told me that Al Gore invented global warming himself in order to make himself rich. In fact, this nice GOP'er even said the earth is cooling no thanks to Obama who is a socialist. That sounds more truthy than what NASA engineers say right?
Pardon, European Space Agency Scientist.
It doesn't matter, Obama will save us all, end world hunger and bring World Peace. He's THAT good.
they are only doing this so they can be like "HEY! LOOK! we have a ton of fabricated scientific evidence, you owe us more taxes for the air you breath..you are emitting toxins to the air"
Euro taxes going to such satellites is the last one on my list of possible complaints, better a environment monitoring device than some dufus in some commission doing nothing (or worse), and getting paid hundreds of thousands, plus expenses, and housing, and travel.
And better a satellite looking for floods than another one spying and listening on on everybody for no good reason but to suppress freedom.
*Cues Halo music*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjvo0SPAOiQ
The funny of it is that today I was in a speech about flooding in GREEK-TURKEY-BULGARIAN customs and politicians from those sites were disgusting about how they will solve the every-year river flooding and of course they didn't know about this space program.
"Look guys! Our Satellite says it's going to flood over there!"
"Ahh, so now we can finally connect rain to flooding. I knew this project would pay itself off!"
Unfortunately, the satellite doesn't detect spam floods. Pity.
About the vid: the sound of a immense scifi alien warship they put over that satellite animation @3:27 was rather amusing, nice to see them popularize science by making passively orbiting satellites make a huge rumble sound, in space.. that's respecting the viewer there.
Incidentally, the satellite went live at, erm, about the time t-mobile stopped working across the entire US I bet ;)
Now I believe Nibiru and 2012....
Is it reeeealy hard to figure out that when you launch a "science" mission to prove your political beliefs, there really isn't much "science" involved?
BTW, when this gives them data like the satellite tempurature readings that show almost NO global warming, they will poopoo this satellite data too, ignore it and keep pointing out that 1% of antartica that warmed up a tiny bit when the rest of the continent froze even deeper and had records amount of ice/snow increases this year.
Politicians are NOT SCIENTISTS.