Today, NASA will launch a rocket in Florida. This rocket carries a satellite into Earth orbit to conduct climate research. The satellite contains a climate camera, SPEXone, which Dutch scientists have been working on for years. This will solve one of the great mysteries of climate science: What effect do very small dust particles have on global warming?
National government February 6, 2024
Minister Dijkgraaf (Education, Culture and Science): “This Dutch invention will provide the missing puzzle piece in climate science. I'm not just proud of this scientific tour itself. But also on national and international cooperation that raises Dutch science, literally and figuratively, to high levels.
Small molecules, big effect
The Earth's temperature is rising due to the emission of harmful gases. But how much remains uncertain. KNMI director and climate scientist Martin van Aalst: “We don't know exactly what effect dust particles like soot, ash and desert sand have. Some particles reflect sunlight, keeping it cooler. Others absorb sunlight, warming the Earth. “Whether they retain water is also important, which affects cloud formation. The more we plan these processes, the better we know what lies ahead in a changing climate with heat, drought, heavy rain and rising sea levels. This is invaluable.”
NASA mission
NASA's PACE satellite with the Dutch SPEXone attached to it will be launched this morning at 7:30 a.m. Dutch time from the Cape Canaveral launch base on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. There are two other American instruments on the satellite, one studying cloud formation and the other studying the color of the oceans. The satellite carries ten years of fuel and constantly transmits research data that is accessible to everyone. Five research programs are being launched around the world that will work on this data. The first results on the impact of dust particles on the climate are expected to appear next year.
Made in Holland
SpexOne was developed and built by scientists from SRON, the Netherlands Space Institute in Leiden. They developed and built this tool between 2018 and 2021, in collaboration with Airbus NL. Weighing just under 12kg, the SpexOne looks like a cross between a shoebox and a deep fryer. But it's packed with technology that measures the smallest molecules with greater precision than ever before. SPEXone contains, among other things, a camera that measures how bright sunlight is reflected in space, and how that light is affected by molecules in the air.
Two years ago, scientists in Leiden completed the construction process, after which SPEXone was transported to America. There it was extensively tested and linked to a satellite by NASA. Development and construction cost a total of $14 million. Nine million of them were funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
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