GRACE-FO Satellites Will Track Earth's Water Movements

NASA will soon launch the GRACE-FO mission to understand better how climate change impacts water movement on our planet.

The two satellites will orbit Earth simultaneously, analyzing water of all forms; these include the water stored underground, the water that forms our planet's vast oceans, and the water frozen inside of our planet's glaciers.

The satellites will then track the distance between one another with high-precision GPS systems and use this distance to correlate changes on Earth's surface while making observations.

As the polar caps melt and the ocean levels rise, GRACE-FO aspires to help researchers discern the actual drivers behind these occurrences. While climate change is the apparent answer, obtaining the finer details goes a long way in helping civilization adapt to the inevitable changes.