Russia will launch its 1st Arktika-M satellite by December 9, 2020, to monitor the Arctic climate and environment. It will be launched from Baikonur space center (Kazakhstan) using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket with a Fregat booster. This announcement was made by General Director of Lavochkin aerospace company of Russia, Vladimir Kolmykov on May 04, 2020.
The 2nd Arktika-M satellite is still under development and will be launched in 2023.
Key Points:
i.About Arktika-M satellite:
- This remote-sensing and emergency communications satellite is the No.1 one spacecraft ever developed & is being radio-electronic tested. It will collect meteorological data in the Earth’s polar regions, which will help scientists to better study climate change, with permission to improve weather forecasts.
- It is being built to monitor high-latitude areas of the Earth. Their payload will consist MSU-GSM (Microwave Sounding Unit-Global System for Mobile communication) multi-spectral imager and transmitters for meteorological & rescue process.
ii.Arctic Circle:
- It is the northernmost of the five major regions marked by latitude in the Earth’s map. The northern region of this circle is known as the Arctic and the southern region is called the northern temperate zone.
iii.Reason for the launch: In the Arctic Circle, the climate is generally cold, but in the coastal areas of Norway, as a result of the Gulf Stream, temperatures remain relatively high, keeping the ports of northern Norway and northwest Russia ice-free throughout the year. In the interiors, summers are quite hot, while winters are extremely cold.
About Russia:
Capital– Moscow
Currency– Russian Rouble
President– Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister– Andrey Belousov (acting)
