SMOS - Earth Online

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SMOS data reveal ecosystems' resistance to drought

Climate change is rapidly altering the world’s ecosystems, causing extreme weather conditions, such as droughts, to become increasingly frequent. Understanding the factors that contribute to ecosystem resilience to extreme events is vital to develop more effective strategies for climate adaptation and mitigation.

SMOS Near Real Time Sea Surface Wind Speed products back to nominal dissemination

Following a pause in the dissemination of SMOS Near Real Time Sea Surface Wind Speed data on 2 May, the processor has now been updated and nominal dissemination has resumed.

Key facts about SMOS Level-1 and Level-2 science data

Learn about data products from the SMOS mission in our latest infographic.

Remote sensing data map impacts of natural hazards

As climate change increases the frequency and severity of natural disasters, remote sensing data can warn about extreme events and help tackle emergency situations.

Scientists to showcase value of Earth observation data at EGU

Remote sensing scientists are getting ready to present innovative and exciting applications of satellite data at the European Geosciences Union general assembly which will take place from 24 to 28 April in Vienna, Austria.

About SMOS

The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission, launched on 2 November 2009, is one of the European Space Agency's Earth Explorer missions, which form the science and research element of the Living Planet Programme.

It is the first mission to provide, from microwave L-band measurements, global observations of variability in soil moisture and sea surface salinity due to continuous exchange in Earth's water cycle between the oceans, the atmosphere and the land. These key geophysical parameters, soil moisture for hydrology studies and salinity for enhanced understanding of ocean circulation, are both vital for climate change models.

Although designed as a five-year mission, the Programme Board for Earth Observation has recommended the approval of the extension of SMOS mission operations based on its excellent technical and scientific performance until end 2021 (and beyond). This enables enhanced analysis of longer-term process and new synergistic opportunities from new observing systems.

*Mission Parameters*
Orbit Altitude	Min 761.3 km Max 788.4 km (height of elliptical orbit)
Orbit Type	LEO, sun-synchronous, polar, circular, dawn-dusk (LTAN 06:00)
Orbit Inclination	98.42°
Repeat Cycle	149 days, 18 days sub-cycle

SMOS Objectives

The SMOS mission furthers our scientific knowledge of the Earth's water cycle, contributes to better weather and extreme-event forecasting, and helps improve climate models. SMOS also contributes significant information to cryospheric research.

SMOS Instruments

The **Microwave Imaging Radiometer with Aperture Synthesis** (MIRAS) is a passive microwave 2-D interferometric polarimetric radiometer.
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SMOS INSTRUMENTS

SMOS DATA

SMOS TOOLS