{"id":7261,"date":"2010-02-02T10:54:00","date_gmt":"2010-02-02T10:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/nasas-aquarius-gets-a-presidential-visit\/"},"modified":"2010-02-02T10:54:00","modified_gmt":"2010-02-02T10:54:00","slug":"nasas-aquarius-gets-a-presidential-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.euvolution.com\/futurist-transhuman-news-blog\/space-station\/nasas-aquarius-gets-a-presidential-visit.php","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Aquarius Gets a Presidential Visit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Argentine<\/span>
<\/span>Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (center in blue) was briefed Jan. 20.<\/span>
Photo: Argentine government<\/span>
› Larger image<\/a><\/span><\/div>
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner<\/span> (center in blue) was briefed Jan. 20 during a tour of the facility where the JPL-built Aquarius instrument is being integrated with the Argentinian satellite<\/span>, called the Satélite de Aplicaciones Científicas<\/span> (SAC-D<\/span>).<\/span><\/div>

The visit took place during the kickoff of the satellite's system contractor new satellite integration facility in Bariloche, Argentina. The president met with Aquarius\/SAC-D team members from NASA<\/span><\/a>, Argentina's space agency, Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, and the contractor.<\/span><\/p>

The primary instrument on the mission<\/span>, Aquarius <\/span>is designed to provide monthly global maps of how salt concentration varies on the ocean surface -- a key indicator of ocean circulation and its role in climate change. Seven Argentine space agency-sponsored instruments will provide environmental data for a wide range of applications, including natural hazards, land processes, epidemiological studies and air quality issues. <\/p>

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The minimum three-year mission is scheduled to launch this year from Vandenberg Air Force Base<\/span>, Calif.<\/span><\/p>

View my blog's last three great articles....<\/span><\/span><\/p>