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Nasa plans to inject Earth's atmosphere with millions of tons ice to tackle climate change
March 01, 2024
Nasa scientists have unveiled an audacious plan to counteract climate change by introducing ice particles into the sky.
The goal is to spray tons ice particles into the upper atmosphere from high-altitude aircraft that rises 58,000 feet above the ground, which is more than 20,000 feet higher than commercial aircraft, according to Daily Mail.
The idea is that by freezing water, water vapour would be removed before it could be converted into greenhouse gas emissions, which would keep heat from escaping into space and eventually raise Earth's
The water would be frozen by the ice particles and fall back to Earth, eliminating extra water vapour and dehydrating the stratosphere, which is where water transforms into a gas that traps heat.
Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) collaborated on the idea.
The concept of drying the upper atmosphere is the most recent addition to what some scientists are referring to as a last-ditch arsenal of strategies to combat climate change through altering the planet's seas or atmosphere.
Known as "geoengineering," it is frequently disapproved of due to possible adverse effects and is typically discussed in addition to emission reductions rather than as a substitute for lowering carbon pollution.
Lead author Joshua Schwarz, a physicist at Noaa, stated: "This isn´t something that we can even implement right now. This is about exploring what might be possible in the future and identifying research directions."
Schwarz pointed out that the efforts would only cool the atmosphere by 1/70th, or the same amount of warmth as CO2 provides, and would not counteract its effects.
https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/1163203-nasa-plans-to-inject-earths-atmosphere-with-millions-of-tons-ice-to-tackle-climate-change
Space Force general warns of ‘window of vulnerability’ in satellite defense
February 29, 2024
In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command, warned that the U.S. faces a “window of vulnerability” over the next few years to defend critical space assets from potential aggression.
At a Feb. 29 hearing alongside Gen. Anthony Cotton, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, Whiting singled out China and Russia as the leading threats the U.S. space architecture faces in the near future due to their ongoing development of anti-satellite weapons.
U.S. Space Command, established in 2019 in Colorado Springs, is the Defense Department’s combatant command responsible for space operations. It is tasked with monitoring space activity and threats, supporting U.S. and allied military units with space capabilities like communications and surveillance, and responding to crises involving the space domain.
“The PRC’s and Russia’s actions have transformed space into a contested warfighting domain,” Whiting told lawmakers.
China’s eyes in the sky
A key concern is Beijing’s growing number of surveillance satellites. As of January 2024, the PRC has deployed a fleet of 359 intelligence satellites, Whiting said, “more than tripling its on-orbit collection presence since 2018.”
China has “dramatically increased their ability to monitor, track and target U.S. and allied forces both terrestrially and on orbit,” Whiting added. “Russia also continues to develop, test and demonstrate their counter-space capabilities, despite not having achieved their war aims from their invasion of Ukraine.”
Whiting noted that the ongoing ground war in Ukraine has revealed military reliance on space and satellite- enabled services like communications and navigation. “Russia’s war in Ukraine has established space as an indelible enabler of terrestrial warfare,” he said.
But the biggest long-term priority for the Pentagon is to stay ahead of China, Whiting insisted. “The PRC is moving breathtakingly fast in space. America must rapidly increase the timeliness, quality and quantity of our critical national space and missile defense systems to match China’s speed and maintain our advantage.”
Space Command’s wish list
While noting that Space Command last year reached “full operational capability,” Whiting cautioned that does not equate to superior space defense capabilities. Reaching FOC means the command has structure and processes in place to operate, but it does not mean it has sufficient capability across the board to match the pace at which potential adversaries are advancing their space weapons programs.
Whiting said U.S. Space Command has identified a list of requirements that need to be funded and delivered in order to build a resilient satellite architecture, more advanced spaced-based sensors, modern electronic warfare systems and cyber defenses of space networks. He said the target date for the delivery of these new capabilities is 2027.
“Absent commitment to long-term investment in these integrated requirements, we risk ceding advantage to our principal strategic competitors in the space domain,” he said. “Our forces today are optimized for a benign space environment.”
Until those investments have been made and programs brought to fruition, Whiting added, there is a “window of vulnerability.”
https://spacenews.com/space-force-general-warns-of-window-of-vulnerability-in-satellite-defense/