NASA Reveals Loss of Communication With CYGNSS Constellation

Andi C., Tech Times 15 December 2022, 03:12 pm

An alarming development has come up regarding NASA's CYGNSS Constellation.

It has been six years since the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) constellation was launched. Since then, it has evolved from a two-year mission to measure winds in significant Atlantic storms to a mission with a widening range of aims and purposes.

However, a recent update from NASA reveals that the CYGNSS team has been unable to communicate with FM06, one of the eight CYGNSS spacecraft, since Nov. 26.

As of writing, NASA is still working to acquire a signal and establish a connection to the satellite. Since the FM06 anomaly, the other seven spacecraft have been collecting science data and operating regularly.

What Is NASA's CYGNSS?

According to Space, as tropical cyclones, typhoons, and hurricanes develop throughout the course of their lives, a constellation of eight tiny satellites called the CYGNSS, measures the ocean surface winds in and close to the storm's eye.

To gain a better knowledge of the interplay between the sea and the air close to a storm's eye, the University of Michigan and Southwest Research Institute in Colorado created CYGNSS. A $152 million NASA investment in 2012 led to the University of Michigan taking the lead in the development of CYGNSS.

The microsatellite constellation was successfully launched on December 15, 2016, and its principal scientific goals were met in March 2019. CYGNSS has been in extended mission status ever since.

Earth Observatory reports that the satellite covers a wide range of research, which includes the following:

How the ocean surface heat flow influences mesoscale convection and precipitation, how wetlands hidden beneath dense vegetation produce methane in the atmosphere.
How the suppression of ocean surface roughness aids in tracking pollutant abundance in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch
How moist soil beneath dense vegetation aids in identifying locust breeding grounds in East Africa.

In addition to these scientific breakthroughs, CYGNSS engineering has shown what is feasible with a constellation of little, inexpensive satellites.

What Lack Contact Means For NASA's CYGNSS?

Launched on December 15, 2016, CYGNSS achieved its primary mission research goals on March 19, 2019. Since then, it has been running in extended mission status.

However, due to the recent lack of contact, the FM06 satellite would largely impact the constellation's spatial coverage if the crew is unable to make contact again. The CYGNSS constellation might, however, continue to fulfill its needs and goals in terms of science.

According to NASA's main statement regarding the event, the remaining seven satellites that make up the CYGNSS constellation are still operational and have carried on gathering scientific data since FM06 went incommunicado last month.

The science of the constellation can continue without FM06, but if the crew is unable to get in touch with the spacecraft, CYGNSS's spatial coverage, which was practically gap-free up until November, would be reduced.