Skip to playerSkip to main contentSkip to footer
  • yesterday

Category

📺
TV
Transcript
00:00The sky above is studded with stars and countless galaxies.
00:08In them we can read not only our origin but also our final destination.
00:14The first phase of our journey is complete.
00:19We are ready to undertake the second.
00:21With robotics, advanced technologies and sheer daring,
00:24we are now going to places that before we only dreamt we might ever reach.
00:29We'll see you then.
00:42Howano's the world stripes прям through downward,
00:45doesn't it?
00:47The world stripes map through lighting
00:49りました.
00:51It's looking to be a big city in spl uni.
00:57It was here at Peenemunde on the Baltic coast
01:08where the opening shots of the space race were fired.
01:11Not an auspicious occasion.
01:13The backdrop to this extraordinary effort was World War.
01:18The chief engineer did mutter, however,
01:20the rocket functioned perfectly.
01:22It just hit the wrong planet.
01:23Time and tide have changed that frontier.
01:28Now science and commercial imperatives lead the way.
01:32Our push into the new frontier is now genuine and humane,
01:36guided by science and the hunger for discovery.
01:39Soon it will be underpinned by the commercial realities of tourism and mining.
01:46Research and engineering advances are ongoing.
01:50New communications and sensing technologies,
01:52new space systems for advanced aero-breaking,
01:56new materials and manufacturing processes for new spacecraft,
02:00and safer launch systems,
02:06all aimed squarely at a return to the moon.
02:11Then, on to Mars for a long-term stay.
02:27The human flight component would like to see an experiment
02:39where resources on the surface of Mars,
02:42from the rocks or the atmosphere,
02:43could be used to generate fuel or other parts
02:46that would enable future exploration
02:50in cutting the tie, so to speak, to Earth.
02:53So you wouldn't necessarily have to bring everything with you.
02:55You can actually manufacture it on the planet.
02:58And that's a really exciting additional component
03:00that we've been exploring or analyzing in this work.
03:04This will extend our reach even further,
03:18with planned excursions to the asteroids and comets
03:21giving us access to even greater resources.
03:25At the same time,
03:25it would help us protect Earth from wayward objects
03:28posing a threat to our planet.
03:30Then there is the challenge of the greater solar system,
03:46visiting the outer planets and their moons.
03:49Jupiter's Europa, Callisto, Ganymede.
03:52Or Saturn's Enceladus,
04:02a potential life-harboring location.
04:07Or cloud-covered Titan,
04:10which holds vast hydrocarbon resources.
04:14Then, the great interstellar voyages
04:16to other stars and other planets.
04:19Like HD 189733b, a gas giant.
04:28Or Gliese 1214b, a water world.
04:32Or even Kepler 186f, a nearby Earth-like planet.
04:36Our first stop in this journey takes us into orbit,
04:57where we can continue to look down
04:58at the world's changing environment
05:00and study the planet we call home.
05:03We humans are mere passengers
05:18on board this vessel called Earth.
05:21We cannot control the direction she takes,
05:24how fast she spins.
05:26But we can influence her complex
05:28and dynamic ecological climate engine.
05:30To study this machine that sustains us,
05:34scientists have used satellites
05:36as one of their primary tools.
05:39Of the 6,600 satellites launched so far,
05:43some 3,600 remain in orbit,
05:46with only 1,000 still operational.
05:49There are two main sorts of satellites
05:51that we use for weather forecasting.
05:53The first sort is the geostationary satellite.
05:59Now, these geostationary satellites
06:00are launched into orbit at 36,000 kilometres
06:03above the Earth's surface.
06:05And at this height,
06:06they orbit the Earth precisely once per day.
06:08I can illustrate it like this.
06:10The Earth rotates around its axis
06:12on a 24-hour basis,
06:13and at the same time,
06:14the satellite orbits the Earth.
06:16So it always stays over the same point of the Earth.
06:19In this way, it takes an image of the Earth
06:22now with our MSG series every 15 minutes,
06:27and it can provide very high,
06:29rapid update cycles from that data.
06:33The other main sort of weather satellites we have
06:35are the polar orbiters.
06:37Now, these orbit the Earth
06:39at a much lower altitude,
06:40about 800 kilometres,
06:41and they orbit pretty much
06:43over the North and South Pole
06:45in what we call a sun-synchronous orbit.
06:48Now, because they're much lower down,
06:51they're able to provide us
06:52with a much more detailed view
06:53of the Earth and the atmosphere.
06:58The complexity of the Earth climate model
07:00is due to a range of variable inputs,
07:03from solar radiation,
07:05solar winds,
07:06magnetic fields,
07:07gravity,
07:08thermal absorption,
07:09to water temperature and salinity,
07:11ice and cloud coverage,
07:13carbon dioxide,
07:14and other trace gases in the atmosphere,
07:16to name just a few.
07:18The first order of business
07:19has been to monitor our weather.
07:34Maximum scientific value
07:36comes from long-term data gathering.
07:38It has to be reliable,
07:40continuous and uninterrupted.
07:43To this end,
07:43ESA and UMETSAT
07:45have launched their latest satellite,
07:46Meetup B.
07:52Meetup B is particularly important
07:54to provide continuity of this data.
07:57This data has the largest single impact
08:00into the weather forecasting system.
08:02So it's very important
08:04that we maintain this capability.
08:06And for climate's purposes,
08:08it's very important
08:09that we maintain
08:10a continuous record in time.
08:13Apart from accurate weather data,
08:15it also carries a GOM,
08:16or Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment.
08:19It monitors ozone concentrations
08:21in the polar regions.
08:22This is an instrument that measures
08:26in the ultraviolet and visible part
08:27of the spectrum
08:28to retrieve information
08:30on the ozone structure
08:31within the atmosphere,
08:33which is particularly important
08:34for understanding the recovery
08:35of the ozone hole.
08:37And also,
08:38it's now used
08:39within weather forecasting itself.
08:43Weather forecasting
08:44is important for everybody
08:46because weather impacts
08:48a large amount of society,
08:51economic aspects.
08:53It impacts every day's life.
08:56Satellites improve weather forecasting,
08:59so improved forecasting
09:00enables us to provide
09:02earlier warnings,
09:04better warnings,
09:05give us more time to warn.
09:12There is now a concerted
09:14and coordinated effort
09:15by the major space agencies
09:17NASA, ESA, and JAXA,
09:19along with their international partners,
09:21to launch a series
09:22of next-generation
09:23Earth observation satellites,
09:25each with specific instrumentation
09:27to address the many variables
09:29making up our climate.
09:33Joint partners NASA
09:34and the Japanese Space Agency
09:36have launched
09:36an international satellite mission,
09:38GPM.
09:39The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission
09:42will set a new standard
09:43of observation of rain and snow
09:45worldwide.
09:47GPM consists of a core satellite
09:50with eight constellation satellites.
09:52With precipitation radar
09:54and a microwave radiometer,
09:56the system will collect global data
09:58every three hours.
10:01The GMI produces
10:02a critical reference standard
10:04which unifies all the member satellites
10:06of the GPM constellation.
10:08The instrument has 13 channels
10:10and this greater sensitivity
10:12allows GPM to measure
10:14a greater variety
10:15of precipitation type
10:16and intensity.
10:18Each channel
10:19has a frequency range
10:20that can detect
10:21a different type of precipitation.
10:24Scientific algorithms
10:25then translate
10:26the GMI's brightness temperature data
10:28into more meaningful products,
10:30such as rain rates.
10:31Because GPM's coverage
10:34extends beyond the tropics,
10:36measuring storms like these
10:37in the mid and high latitudes
10:39will improve and expand
10:40the global view of precipitation.
10:43Conducted with the National Oceanic
10:45and Atmospheric Agency
10:46and the space agencies
10:48of France, India and China,
10:50the GPM mission data
10:51will advance our understanding
10:53of the water and energy cycles
10:54and extend the use
10:56of precipitation data
10:57to directly benefit society.
11:09Two major components
11:10of Earth's climate system
11:12are the water cycle
11:13and ocean circulation.
11:15The joint US-Argentinian Aquarius
11:18Satellite de Applicaciones Cientificas mission
11:21can map the salinity
11:22or the concentration
11:23of dissolved salt
11:24at the ocean's surface.
11:26By measuring ocean salinity
11:31from space,
11:32Aquarius will provide
11:33new insights
11:34into how the massive
11:35natural exchange
11:36of fresh water
11:37between the ocean,
11:38atmosphere and sea ice
11:40influences ocean circulation,
11:42weather and climate.
11:46One of the oldest
11:48and most venerable
11:49satellite missions to date
11:50is Landsat.
11:52A NASA and US
11:54Geological Society project
11:55begun in 1972
11:57with the launch
11:57of the first Landsat satellite,
11:59it is the longest running
12:00contiguous earth imaging program.
12:03The eighth of the series
12:04is currently in orbit.
12:07It orbits over the north
12:09and south poles,
12:10taking imagery
12:11on the sunlit side
12:12of the earth
12:13every time it passes.
12:14The Landsat 8 satellite
12:16makes 14 orbits per day
12:18and covers the entire globe
12:20every 16 days.
12:23The data from the Landsat
12:25data continuity mission
12:27will be the best data
12:28that have ever been collected
12:29from a Landsat satellite.
12:31With increasing population,
12:33our land use
12:34are changing
12:35at rates unprecedented
12:36in human history.
12:38To manage
12:39and cope
12:40with these changes,
12:41we need to have
12:41the observations,
12:42the information,
12:43the data
12:43that allow us
12:45to understand
12:45what's going on
12:46on the surface
12:47of the earth
12:47where most of us live.
12:50The data collected
12:51over 40 years
12:52of the earth's surface
12:53has created
12:54an historic archive
12:55unmatched
12:56in quality,
12:57detail,
12:58and coverage.
12:59The Landsat archive
13:01that contains
13:01all the U.S.-held data
13:03from all
13:05of the Landsat satellites
13:06and the LDCM data
13:08will become part
13:08of that archive.
13:09The Landsat program
13:10offers,
13:11free to anyone,
13:12the longest global record
13:14of the earth's surface
13:15and it will continue
13:16to deliver
13:17visually stunning
13:18and scientifically valuable
13:20images of our planet.
13:25However,
13:26the earth's surface
13:27is predominantly water
13:28measuring the topography
13:30of the oceans
13:31is another challenge
13:32altogether.
13:35Begun by the
13:36Topex-Poseidon satellite,
13:38a joint effort
13:38of NASA and France's
13:40Centre National
13:41d'Études Spatiales
13:42and continued
13:42by the Jason-1 satellite,
13:45their latest mission
13:45is Jason-2,
13:47continuing to provide
13:48a long-term survey
13:49of earth's oceans.
13:51It measures changes
13:52in the height
13:53of the sea's surface.
13:55These are used
13:56to understand shifts
13:57in ocean currents
13:58as well as sea-level rise,
14:00both critical parts
14:01of global climate change.
14:04The data is used
14:04around the world
14:05to improve weather,
14:06climate and ocean forecasts.
14:10Another ocean-going measurement
14:11is the speed
14:12and direction
14:13of the winds.
14:15The SeaWinds Scatterometer
14:17is a specialized microwave radar
14:20that measures
14:20near-surface wind.
14:22The Scatterometer estimates
14:24wind speed and direction
14:25over the earth's oceans
14:26at 10 metres above
14:28the surface of the water.
14:30The instrument collects data
14:32over ocean, land and ice
14:33in a continuous
14:351,800-kilometre-wide band,
14:37making approximately
14:38400,000 measurements
14:40and covering 90%
14:41of earth's surface
14:42in one day.
14:43Air layer satellites
14:52could only image
14:53the uppermost layers
14:54of clouds.
14:55CloudSat was among
14:56the first satellites
14:57to study clouds
14:58on a global basis.
15:01It looked at their structure,
15:02composition and effects.
15:05The key observations
15:06are the vertical profiles
15:07of cloud-liquid water
15:09and ice-water contents
15:10and related cloud-physical
15:12and radiative properties.
15:15CloudSat flies
15:16in tight formation
15:16with the Calypso satellite
15:18carrying a back-scattering LIDAR
15:20and these two satellites
15:21follow behind
15:22the Aqua satellite
15:23in a somewhat
15:24looser formation.
15:26When we started
15:27with airs on Aqua,
15:30we had two goals
15:31defined to us,
15:32you know,
15:33before the mission started.
15:34One, provide data
15:36to the nation's
15:39weather forecasting
15:40center,
15:41which is NOAA,
15:43and improve
15:43weather forecasting.
15:44So that was
15:45the first goal.
15:48Achieved,
15:49and we,
15:50the science team,
15:51felt good.
15:52The second goal
15:53was improve
15:55our understanding
15:56of the climate system,
15:58the water vapor.
15:59That is the main
16:01mechanism
16:03by which weather
16:04and climate
16:04is formed
16:05here on Earth.
16:07The combination
16:08of data
16:08from the three satellites
16:10provides a rich
16:11source of information
16:12that can be used
16:13to assess the role
16:14of clouds
16:14in both weather
16:16and climate.
16:25The European Space Agency's
16:27Earth Explorer program
16:29has seen several
16:30high-tech satellites
16:31play their part
16:32in our understanding
16:33of the global climate.
16:35We have launched
16:36three missions
16:37meanwhile
16:37with fantastic results
16:39and very innovative
16:42technology.
16:43SMOS,
16:44the Soil Moisture
16:45and Salinity Satellite,
16:47observed soil moisture
16:48over the land
16:49and salinity
16:49in the oceans.
16:50cryosat,
16:56the ice mission,
16:57measured the thickness
16:58of the massive ice sheets
16:59over Greenland
17:00and Antarctica
17:01and the marine ice
17:02in the Arctic.
17:03It used a sophisticated
17:05stereo radar system
17:06and has helped
17:07give us a better
17:08understanding
17:09of the relationship
17:09between ice
17:10and global warming.
17:11Gautier measured
17:20Earth's gravity field
17:21with unprecedented accuracy.
17:24A geoid model
17:25is crucial
17:25for deriving
17:26accurate measurements
17:27of ocean circulation
17:28and sea level change,
17:30both of which
17:31are affected
17:32by climate change.
17:33This data
17:34revealed the Earth
17:35to be lumpy
17:36and quite variable
17:37across the planet.
17:38It has led to a new map
17:40of the boundary
17:40between the Earth's crust
17:42and mantle.
17:46Another piece
17:47in the climate puzzle
17:48and a critical one
17:50is the Earth's magnetic field.
17:54The Earth magnetic field
17:55is our lifesaver.
17:57There's no doubt
17:58about this.
17:59This shield
18:00is basically
18:01protecting us
18:02from the harmful effect
18:04of the solar wind,
18:05these high-energy particles
18:06that the Sun
18:07is constantly
18:08bombarding us with
18:09and this shield
18:10is really essential
18:11for us
18:11and for our protection.
18:13The main magnetic field
18:14of the Earth
18:15is changing in time
18:16and it is weakening
18:16by a factor of,
18:18let's say,
18:1810-15% or so
18:19over the last 200 years
18:21and what's actually
18:23going on
18:23in the outer core
18:24of the planet
18:25is what we really
18:25try to find out.
18:28The magnetometer package
18:29on board Swarm
18:30measures the magnitude
18:31and also the direction
18:32of the Earth's magnetic field
18:33and it does so
18:36in two locations.
18:37One,
18:38it has an instrument
18:39at the tip of the boom
18:40and also another instrument
18:41halfway down the boom
18:42and together
18:42we give all this precise information
18:44that we needed
18:45to decipher
18:46the secrets
18:47of the Earth magnetic field.
18:48ESA is now developing
18:58a new family
18:59of missions
18:59called sentinels
19:00as part of their
19:01Copernicus program.
19:04It is not sufficient
19:06to monitor
19:07the evolution
19:09of the ice cap
19:10or to monitor
19:11the sea level rise
19:12during five years
19:13and then stop.
19:14We really need
19:15to monitor those things
19:17over a very long time period
19:19and this is what
19:20Copernicus will bring.
19:21It will bring
19:22a long-term frame
19:24for continuous monitoring
19:27of our environment.
19:29CentEL-1A
19:30is the first
19:30of a two-satellite mission
19:31that will scan land
19:33and oceans
19:33using advanced radar
19:35to deliver imagery
19:36regardless of weather.
19:39Copernicus
19:39is the most ambitious
19:41Earth observation program
19:42to date.
19:43The European Space Agency
19:46is putting together
19:47six families
19:48of sentinels
19:49that will take care
19:50of the objectives
19:51of the Copernicus program
19:52monitoring the land,
19:56the marine environment,
19:58the atmosphere,
19:59climate change
20:00and providing
20:01a fast response
20:02to security
20:02and emergencies.
20:04In total,
20:05there will be
20:06six sentinel missions,
20:08each pair of satellites
20:09devoted to
20:10specific observations.
20:11Each sentinel
20:13has a specific duty.
20:16Sentinel-1
20:16is more specifically
20:18tailored to
20:18emergency response.
20:21Sentinel-2
20:22is focused
20:23on monitoring
20:24of the land.
20:26Sentinel-3
20:26together
20:27with Sentinel-6
20:29is focused
20:30on the monitoring
20:31of the ocean
20:32and waters.
20:33Sentinel-4
20:34together
20:34with Sentinel-5
20:36is specially tailored
20:37to the monitoring
20:38of the atmosphere.
20:41The International Space Station
20:43is also host
20:44to several climate sensors.
20:55Currently,
20:55the CATS,
20:56or Cloud Aerosol Transport System,
20:59is mounted
20:59on the Japanese
21:00Experiment Module.
21:02Using light detection
21:03and arranging lidar system,
21:05it detects and measures
21:06pollution,
21:07dust,
21:08smoke
21:08and other aerosols
21:09in the atmosphere.
21:13NASA will be installing
21:14another instrument,
21:15the Rapid SCAT,
21:16onto the end
21:17of the station's
21:18Columbus Module
21:18this year.
21:20It will measure
21:21ocean surface
21:21wind speed
21:22and direction
21:23and help improve
21:24forecasting
21:25and hurricane warnings.
21:29The orbiting
21:30Carbon Observatory
21:31was NASA's
21:32first satellite
21:32dedicated to
21:33the tracking
21:34of carbon
21:34in the atmosphere,
21:36how it is reabsorbed
21:37into the biomass
21:37and where.
21:39Unfortunately,
21:40a launch failure
21:41has caused
21:42a reschedule
21:43of the project.
21:47But we need
21:48the measurements
21:49that spacecraft
21:49like OCL
21:50will make
21:51in order to understand
21:53the processes
21:53controlling
21:54the rate of buildup
21:56of carbon dioxide
21:56in our atmosphere
21:57so that we can understand
21:59how it will change
21:59in the future.
22:01Other projects
22:02in motion include
22:03the Atmospheric Dynamics
22:04mission Aeolus
22:05with its high-power
22:06UV laser
22:07which will measure
22:08wind speed,
22:09air moisture
22:09and dust particles
22:11to advance our
22:12understanding
22:12of atmospheric dynamics.
22:16EarthCare
22:16will study
22:17how the Earth
22:17reflects
22:18and traps heat.
22:20Biomass
22:21will study
22:22the state
22:22of the Earth's forests.
22:25NASA's
22:25Clario satellite
22:26will measure
22:27incident solar
22:28irradiance
22:28and the Earth
22:29energy budget.
22:32SMAP,
22:32the Soil Moisture
22:33Active Passive,
22:34is an Earth
22:35satellite mission
22:36designed to measure
22:37and map
22:38Earth's soil moisture
22:39and freeze-thaw state
22:40to better understand
22:42terrestrial water,
22:43carbon
22:43and energy cycles.
22:46The suite of satellites
22:48now in orbit
22:49and planned
22:49for the near future
22:50will be able
22:51to peer beneath
22:52the clouds,
22:53vegetation
22:53and other
22:54surface features,
22:56monitor water salinity,
22:57temperature
22:58and energy fluxes,
22:59chart ocean currents
23:00and the change
23:01in ice caps.
23:04All this data
23:05is helping
23:05to improve
23:06our understanding
23:07of climate change
23:08and also helping
23:09in a practical sense
23:10with flood
23:11and drought monitoring,
23:13hurricane
23:13and cyclone warnings,
23:15understanding changes
23:16in water availability,
23:17food production
23:18and the other
23:19societal impacts
23:20of climate change.
23:23We'll see you next time.
23:53next time.