by A Scottish company has helped NASA with the technology used on the International Space Station.
The EMIT, developed by Alpha Data, will observe the Earth from outside the ISS and provide data never seen before, detailing how mineral dust clouds carried by strong winds from arid regions over great distances can heat or cool the Earth. atmosphere as I travel, with dark particles absorbing sunlight for a warming effect and light colored particles providing a cooling effect.
The company has offices in both Edinburgh and Colorado, in the United States.
The instrument consists of a state-of-the-art imaging spectrometer that will investigate visible and infrared light to determine the composition of mineral dust clouds and their role in warming and cooling the atmosphere.
Kate Calvin, NASA’s Chief Scientist and Senior Climate Advisor, said, “The data we are receiving from EMIT will provide us with more information on the warming and cooling of the Earth and the role of mineral dust in that cycle.
“It is promising to see the amount of data we are getting from the mission in such a short time.”
EMIT will collect billions of new spectroscopic measurements across six continents, bridging this knowledge gap and advancing climate science.
David Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Alpha Data, said, “The successful implementation of EMIT is a key milestone for Alpha Data and further strengthens our relationship with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“Alpha Data’s crucial contributions to EMIT have led to an important milestone in this significant and accelerating industry and show the unmatched ability of Alpha Data’s development frameworks to produce highly reliable, space-grade standard electronics.”
Read more: New requests for stricter overtime taxes as BP makes a £ 7 billion profit in three months
Alpha Data and EMIT are another milestone in Scotland’s ever-growing space sector, which collaborates internationally on world-leading research missions. EMIT follows in the footsteps of the mid-infrared instrument [MIRI] – one of the four work tools aboard the NASA / ESA / CSA James Webb Space Telescope, with the UK Astronomy Technology Center, based at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, the main institution that designed and built MIRI.
Founded in 1993 and with offices in the US and UK, Alpha Data is the leading global provider of state-of-the-art solutions for compute-intensive applications, including standard commercial performance. [COTS] performance calculation solutions and supporting software. A leading provider of high-performance network applications, Alpha Data caters for deployment in extreme environments, such as high-altitude areas.
Alpha Data has provided NASA with existing modified products and designs from the drawing board to distribution and beyond.
