Objectives and Impact of PREFIRE
The PREFIRE objective will help close a gap in our understanding of just how much of Earths heat is lost to space, particularly from the Arctic and Antarctica. Analysis of PREFIRE measurements will notify climate and ice models, providing better forecasts of how a warming world will affect sea ice loss, ice sheet melt, and water level rise. Improving environment designs can eventually help to supply more accurate projections on the effects of storm severity and frequency, along with coastal erosion and flooding.
Mission Components and Partnerships
The objective consists of 2 6U CubeSats with a baseline mission length of 10 months and is jointly developed by NASA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages the mission for the companys Science Mission Directorate and is offering the instruments.
Statement and Contract Details
NASAs Launch Services Program, based out of the agencys Kennedy Space Center in Florida, in partnership with NASAs Earth System Science Pathfinder workplace, revealed the launch service as part of the firms VADR (Venture-class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare) launch services contract.
The PREFIRE mission will send out two CubeSats– shown as an artists principle versus an image of Earth from orbit– into area to study how much heat the world gives off and soaks up from its polar regions, consisting of the Arctic and Antarctica. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Information from the PREFIRE objective will notify climate and ice models, supplying much better projections of how a warming world will impact sea ice loss, ice sheet melt, and sea level increase.
NASA has chosen Rocket Lab USA Inc. of Long Beach, California, to supply the launch service for the agencys PREFIRE (Polar Radiant Energy in the Far-InfraRed Experiment) objective, which intends to offer scientists a more accurate image of the energy going into and leaving Earth.
Both PREFIRE CubeSats will launch throughout the spring of 2024. PREFIRE Satellite 1 is nominally scheduled to release on May 1, 2024, while PREFIRE Satellite 2 is arranged for May 15, 2024.
The PREFIRE mission will assist close a gap in our understanding of how much of Earths heat is lost to space, specifically from the Arctic and Antarctica. The mission consists of two 6U CubeSats with a standard mission length of 10 months and is jointly developed by NASA and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California manages the mission for the agencys Science Mission Directorate and is providing the instruments.