NASA Has a New Satellite for Monitoring Air Pollution

NASA Has a New Satellite for Monitoring Air Pollution
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Air pollution can be very dangerous to human health. It is caused by a variety of pollutants, such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, and ozone. These pollutants can cause a range of health problems, from minor irritations to serious illnesses.

Short-term exposure to air pollution can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and asthma attacks. It can also aggravate existing heart and lung conditions, leading to hospitalization and even premature death.

Long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to a range of health problems, including chronic respiratory diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, heart disease, stroke, and lung cancer. It has also been linked to developmental and neurological problems, including lower IQ scores in children and an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

In other words, it would be a great idea for experts to keep an eye on air pollution, and that’s exactly what SpaceX has in mind.

TEMPO joins the game

NASA and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory have collaborated for the launch of a satellite named TEMPO, which will take high-resolution measurements of nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and other pollutants on Earth once every hour, according to Weather.com. TEMPO is geostationary, orbiting 22,000 feet above Earth at the same speed as Earth’s rotation, providing the opportunity to take measurements of parts or the whole North America once every hour while the sun is up. The data that TEMPO collects will be publicly available online for anyone to access.

YouTube video

Erika Wright explained as Weather.com quotes:

That data is going to tell them things about their local backyard, so they can look up what’s happening outside today and maybe what’s going on outside today,

And maybe even make decisions: Do I want to go for a run today? Is the air quality a little bad today?

TEMPO stands for Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution.


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Even since he was a child, Cristian was staring curiously at the stars, wondering about the Universe and our place in it. Today he's seeing his dream come true by writing about the latest news in astronomy. Cristian is also glad to be covering health and other science topics, having significant experience in writing about such fields.

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