NASA’s PREFIRE Polar Mission

Source-This post on NASA’s PREFIRE Polar Mission has been created based on the article “NASA’s new mission to study polar regions’ heat loss to launch on May 22” published in “Indian Express” on 17 May 2024.

Why in News?

NASA will soon launch 2 satellites under PREFIRE polar mission.

PREFIRE stands for Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment.

Objectives of the PREFIRE Polar Mission:

1) The mission will be aimed at filling the knowledge gap about two of the most remote regions on Earth — the Arctic and Antarctic.

2) It will measure the amount of far-infrared radiation(heat) emitted from two of the coldest, most remote regions on the planet, into space.

3) It will find out how atmospheric water vapor and clouds influence the amount that escapes to space.

About the Mission

PREFIRE is composed of two small CubeSats outfitted with specialized miniature heat sensors.

They will be launched with the help of Electron launch vehicle, which is equipped with the technology proven on Mars.

Significance of the PREFIRE Polar Mission

At the tropics, Earth absorbs a lot of energy from the Sun. This energy is travelled to polar regions with the help of wind movement and water currents. Then this heat is transferred to into the space.

About 60 percent of the heat energy, going outwards into space from earth in the form of far-infrared wavelengths, has never been measured.

The knowledge from the mission will improve computer models that are used to predict how Earth’s ice, seas, and weather will change in a warming world.