NASA Satellite to Monitor US Water Consumption

NASA has begun building the hardware for a new Landsat satellite that will help monitor water consumption in the US.

The satellite is being built at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, US.

The American Space Agency will launch the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) in a series of satellite launches starting in December 2012.

NASA will install a 236kg thermal infrared sensor (TIRS), which will give multispectral data of the world’s surface.

TIRS is a two-channel thermal imager, providing 100m spatial resolution across a 185km field-of-view.

The imager will provide surface temperature readings to measure water use through evapotranspiration.

The instrument will map the evapotranspiration determining the amount of water consumption by an individual or entity, which will help resolve conflicts over water consumption.