NASA builds small, low-cost weather sensors to track tropical cyclones
Posted 24th February 2023
NASA has constructed two weather instruments to test the capabilities of small, low-cost sensors in replicating the work of bigger and more expensive satellites.
The space agency reports that the instruments have been successful in trial runs and are already delivering forecast information about tropical cyclones.
The two instruments are COWVR (short for Compact Ocean Wind Vector Radiometer) and TEMPEST (Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems).
COWVR was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2021 and its role is to estimate the speed and direction of wind at the surface of the ocean. Meanwhile, TEMPEST offers measurements for atmospheric water vapor.