Launching next: PREFIRE The twin satellites of this mission, launching on separate rockets, will help improve climate models by measuring the amount of heat lost to space from Earth’s polar regions. The mission starts with Earth’s energy budget.

Launching next: PREFIRE

The twin satellites of this mission, launching on separate rockets, will help improve climate models by measuring the amount of heat lost to space from Earth’s polar regions.

The mission starts with Earth’s energy budget. The amount of heat energy the planet receives from the Sun should ideally be offset by the amount it radiates into space. The difference between incoming and outgoing energy determines Earth’s temperature and shapes our climate.

Polar regions play a key role in the process, acting like Earth’s radiator fins. The stirring of air and water, through weather and ocean currents, moves heat energy received in the tropics toward the poles, where it is emitted as thermal infrared radiation – the same type of energy you feel from a heat lamp. Some 60% of that energy flows out to space in far-infrared wavelengths that have never been systematically measured.

PREFIRE can help close that knowledge gap. The first of two launches is scheduled for no earlier than May 25 from New Zealand. Tune in to watch the live broadcast: https://www.rocketlabusa.com/live-stream