Science
SMOS
Soil Moisture / Ocean Salinity · ESA
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ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity satellite carries the most unusual instrument in Earth orbit: an interferometric microwave radiometer synthesizing a 620-mile-wide antenna from a Y-shaped array of 69 small receivers. SMOS measures soil moisture and ocean salinity — the variables linking Earth's water, energy, and carbon cycles at planetary scale.
Its orbit
- Orbit
- Low Earth Orbitcan appear as a fast-moving star at dawn or dusk
- Altitude
- 474–475 mi (763–764 km)
- Inclination
- 98.4°
- One orbit
- 100.0 minutes14.4 orbits a day
- NORAD ID
- 36036
- Int’l designator
- 2009-059A
- Launched
- 2009
Orbital elements from CelesTrak, as of 22 Sep 2026.
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