Overview of the NASA Soil Moisture Active/Passive Mission

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) Mission is currently in design Phase C and scheduled for launch in October 2014. Its mission concept is based on combined L-band radar and radiometry measurements obtained from a shared, rotating 6-meter antennae. These measurements will be used to retrieve estimates of the soil moisture present at the Earth's land surface and distinguish frozen from thawed land surfaces. Direct observations of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state from space will allow for significantly improved estimates of water, energy and carbon transfers between the land and atmosphere. In addition, as part of its pre-launch mission design process, the SMAP project has engaged a community of early adopters to prepare their operational systems for the eventual availability of SMAP soil moisture and/or freeze thaw data products. This talk will review the current status of the SMAP mission and describe ongoing efforts to integrate SMAP measurements into operational weather, hydrologic and climate products.