From aboard the International Space Station, NASA-built instruments Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer (COWVR) and Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems (TEMPEST) caught wind and water vapor information from Hurricane Ian as the storm neared Cuba. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
A pair of microwave radiometers collected data on Hurricane Ian as they passed over the Caribbean Sea aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
2 recently released instruments recorded images of Hurricane Ian on Tuesday, September 27, 2022, as the storm approached Cuba on its method north towards the U.S. mainland. Designed and constructed at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, these instruments were developed to provide forecasters information on weather over the open ocean.
COWVR (brief for Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer) and TEMPEST (Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems) observe the worlds environment and surface area from aboard the ISS, which passed in low-Earth orbit over the Caribbean Sea at about 12:30 a.m. EDT.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Ian made landfall in Cubas Pinar del Rio province at 4:30 a.m. EDT. At that time, it was a Category 3 cyclone, with approximated wind speeds of 125 miles per hour (205 kph).
The image at the top of the page integrates microwave emissions measurements from both COWVR and TEMPEST. White areas suggest the presence of clouds. Green portions indicate rain. Yellow, red, and black suggest where air and water vapor were moving most swiftly. Ians center is seen just off of Cubas southern coast, and the storm is shown covering the island with rain and wind.
COWVR and TEMPEST sent out the data for this image back to Earth in a direct stream via NASAs tracking and data relay satellite (TDRS) constellation. The data were processed at JPL and provided to forecasters less than two hours after collection.
COWVR, which is comparable in size to a minifridge, determines natural microwave emissions over the ocean. About the size of a cereal box, TEMPEST tracks microwaves at a much shorter wavelength.
Both microwave radiometers were developed to show that smaller sized, more energy-efficient, more merely created sensors can carry out many of the same measurements as current space-based weather instruments that are much heavier, consume more power, and expense a lot more to construct.
COWVRs development was moneyed by the U.S. Space Force, and TEMPEST was developed with NASA financing. The U.S. Space Test Program-Houston 8 (STP-H8) is accountable for hosting the instruments on the spaceport station under Space Force financing in partnership with NASA. Data from the instruments is being utilized by government and university weather condition forecasters and scientists. The mission will notify the development of future space-based weather condition sensing units, and scientists are dealing with objective principles that would benefit from the low-priced microwave sensing unit innovations to study enduring concerns, such as how heat from the ocean fuels international weather condition patterns.
Ians center is seen simply off of Cubas southern coast, and the storm is shown covering the island with rain and wind.
COWVRs development was moneyed by the U.S. Space Force, and TEMPEST was established with NASA funding. The U.S. Space Test Program-Houston 8 (STP-H8) is responsible for hosting the instruments on the area station under Space Force funding in partnership with NASA. Data from the instruments is being utilized by federal government and university weather forecasters and scientists.