Radio interference plagues Smos

Amateur Radio satellites have long suffered interference from illegal transmissions in Amateur Primary allocations now it seems the ESA Smos spacecraft is also suffering Radio Frequency Interference.

The BBC report says:

The ESA Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) spacecraft is returning valuable new data on the way water is cycled around the globe, despite experiencing continued interference.

The satellite was launched in November to track changes in the wetness of soils and the saltiness of the oceans using a three-armed microwave antenna.

Its detailed maps will soon begin flowing to the scientific community.

But in some parts of the world, Smos is still being blinded by radar networks, and even TV and radio links.

The radio frequency interference (RFI) is a frustration for the mission team. The part of the electromagnetic spectrum in which Smos sees the planet is supposed to be reserved for Earth observation.

Southern Europe, the Middle East and the Asian continent are particular problem zones.

"In Africa, for example, there are a couple of sources - one in Khartoum, one in South Africa," explained Dr Yann Kerr, one of the Smos principal investigators.

"They are damaging the signal over much larger areas, affecting a good part of Africa. And this is one of the areas of the world where information on soil moisture for better water resources management is crucial. So it's really a hindrance," the CESBIO, France, researcher told BBC News.

Read the full BBC story at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/sci/tech/8661228.stm

Thanks to Eric Bray 2E0DTO for spotting this.