ISTANBUL: In a successful liftoff early Thursday, SpaceX launched NASA’s nearly USD1 billion PACE satellite to monitor the health of the planet, from its oceans to its atmosphere, offering crucial data for understanding and combating climate change, according to the US space agency.
Though the mission faced multiple cancelation threats, PACE’s liftoff was secured by soaring on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
PACE is now on its way to a precise orbit where it will begin its observations above the International Space Station.
It will collect data on aerosols and clouds, scanning Earth every two days to analyze their chemical composition, movement, and interactions.
NASA’s PACE mission aims to explore Earth’s environment by studying ocean health, atmospheric conditions, and ecosystems.
It will monitor plankton, aerosols, clouds, and oceanic conditions to better understand their interactions and influence on the planet’s climate and overall health.
Scientists anticipate that PACE data will provide crucial insight
s into the effects of aerosols on cloud formation and differentiate between various cloud types. Understanding these factors is vital for interpreting climate changes and air quality shifts, said NASA.
In addition, data from PACE’s polarimeters will enhance climate models by providing more accurate atmospheric information, replacing current estimates with direct measurements.
The new polarimetry data will also provide real-time insights into air pollution.
Source: Philippines News Agency
HCM City: All the 17 trains of Metro Route No 1, Ben Thanh – Suoi Tien, in Ho Chi Minh City will continuously run on a trial basis during the Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday, said the city’s Management Authority for Urban Railways (MAUR).
Accordingly, contractor Hitachi of bidding package CP3 will make use of the equipment installation suspension to increase pilot operations. The continuous test run aims to complete the testing of remaining equipment so as to put the route into commercial use this year.
Once put into use, the systems of the route will operate harmoniously and almost automatically, so trial operations are compulsory to ensure all equipment are well-connected with one another, MAUR said.
It added that about 40 personnel, mainly experts from Europe and Japan, will be in charge of the test run during the holiday.
Metro Route No 1 consists of 17 trains, each of which comprises three carriages and is 61.5m long. All were manufactured in Japan. Each train can carry a maximum of 930 passengers, incl
uding 147 sitting and 783 standing. The designed maximum speed is 110km per hour on elevated sections and 80km per hour on underground sections.
About 97.5% of the route’s workload has been completed. The facility is expected to become operational in July 2024./.
Source: Vietnam News Agency