Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols mission: NASA and Italian Space Agency join hands for satellite mission to monitor air pollution

Source: The post is based on the article “NASA and Italian Space Agency join hands for satellite mission to monitor air pollution” published in the Indian Express on 11th March 2023.

What is the News?

Recently, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it is partnering with the Italian Space Agency ASI to build and launch the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols mission (MAIA mission).

About Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols mission

Aim: To investigate the health impacts of air pollution in the world’s most populated cities. Its primary goal is to benefit societal health.

The MAIA observatory is set to launch before the end of 2024

Function: The mission will consist of the PLATiNO-2 satellite, which will be provided by ASI, and a science instrument that will be built at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The mission will collect and analyse data from the observatory, sensors on the ground and atmospheric models.

The JPL hosts a pointable spectropolarimetric camera which captures images from multiple angles in the ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Primary target areas: These include major urban centres across the world: Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Rome, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Barcelona, Spain, Beijing, Johannesburg, New Delhi, Taipei, Taiwan; and Tel Aviv.