Two tiny CubeSats for tracking storms will be launched by NASA next Sunday, April 30, from New Zealand.

The TROPICS (Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats) mission includes a total of four identical satellites designed to observe tropical cyclones from low Earth orbit and make observations more frequently than existing satellites weather monitoring.

The first two satellites are planned to be launched on April 30 (early morning of May 1 in Greece), while a second launch is scheduled for May 15. All four satellites will be launched on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket.

Hurricane Ian as captured by the MODIS instrument on NASA’s Terra satellite on September 27, 2022. Credits: NASA

The goal of the mission is to study tropical cyclones and improve understanding of the processes that cause rapid changes in storm structure. TROPICS has the potential to provide hourly observations of a storm’s precipitation, temperature and humidity compared to the six-hourly observations of current satellites. More frequent data collection can help scientists improve weather forecasting models.

M. Kouzinopoulou