Last Updated on March 7, 2022 by Solar System Ambassador Pam Roller
Here’s an update from our local Solar System Ambassador Pam Roller:
High-flying NASA ‘NACHOS’ Instrument May Help Predict Volcanic Eruptions
NACHOS is part of Northrop Grumman’s 17th resupply mission to the International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.
If successful, NACHOS will be the smallest, highest resolution space-based instrument dedicated to monitoring atmospheric trace gases like sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide, paving the way for future Earth-observing systems that will not only help predict volcanic eruptions, but also monitor air quality around specific cities, neighborhoods, and even individual power plants.
Credits: NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory/Logan Ott
Banner image: NACHOS CubeSat. Credits: Los Alamos National Laboratory
By Gage Taylor NASA’s Eearth Science Technology Office