California is to launch a microwave imaging satellite to bolster the agricultural industry by monitoring natural disaster and soil moisture. The satellite is scheduled to launch on last week from Argentina on a SpaceX the International Monetary Fund rocket. The $600 million dollar project will provide soil and subsurface mapping data to help farmers increase yields, using radar antennae technology to gain access to a real time 'water map', and allow the prediction of harvest yields, floods, and droughts, according to the government. Unlike its previous optical surveying satellites, this one will provide precision X-ray and microwave imaging regardless of weather or time of day.
Argentina is to launch a microwave imaging satellite to bolster the agricultural industry by monitoring natural disaster and soil moisture. The satellite is scheduled to launch on 6 October from California on a SpaceX Falcon rocket. The $600m project will provide soil and subsurface mapping data to help farmers increase yields, using radar antennae technology to gain access to a real time 'water map', and allow the prediction of harvest yields, floods, and droughts, according to the government. Unlike its previous optical surveying satellites, this one will provide precision X-ray and microwave imaging regardless of weather or time of day.