A Kuwaiti Science delegation attended the launch of SMAP satellite by NASA

A Kuwaiti Science delegation headed by Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Director General of KFAS (Kuwait Foundation Advancement Science)including Dr. AmeenaFarhan and Dr. HalaKhalid Al Jassar from Physics Department, College of Science, Kuwait University was invited by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to attend the launch of the SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) satellite. Kuwait is collaborating with NASA as an international partner in the calibration and validation of SMAP satellite. The project entitled “Calibration and Validation of NASA (SMAP) Satellite for the Retrieval of soil moisture and the Application to Environmental modeling in Kuwait” is funded by KFAS and is being led by Principle Investigator Dr. Hala Khalid Al Jassar at Physics Department, Kuwait University.

The United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket carrying the SMAP observatory lifted off at 6:22 am PST, 31st January 2015 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The satellite payload separated from stage II of the rocket 57 minutes after lift-off and placed it intoan initial 685 kilometer orbit. The mission will be tracked and managed by NASA JPL. SMAP will orbit the Earth from pole to pole every 98.5 minutes. With a large measurement swath of 1000 kilometers, it will achieve global coverage in equatorial regions every three days and higher latitudes every two days.

SMAP carries a combined radar and radiometer instrument that will measure the soil moisture in the top 5 cm of the soil. The resulting high resolution soil moisture maps will give us a better understanding of the water, energy and carbon cycles that drive our planet. SMAP data will be invaluable for weather and climate forecasting, predicting negative climate events such droughts, wildfires, floods and landslides and also for forecasting agricultural productivity. Applications specific to Kuwait include improved prediction of dust emission (a major health hazard), desertification and erosion due to dryness and better water management.

The delegates has the pleasure to meet Professor Ahmed Zewail, who won the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. During the meeting at Caltech they discussed the potential for a joint scientific collaboration between Kuwait and Caltech in the future.