I was selected by @NASASocial to attend and cover the SMAP Launch at Vandenberg Air Force Base in Lompoc, California. It has always been a dream of mine to participate in Aerospace/Defense: The Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) mission, targeted to launch on November 5th, 2014, will measure soil moisture and surface freeze/thaw from space. SMAP will provide a capability for global mapping of soil moisture and freeze/thaw state with unprecedented accuracy, resolution, and coverage. SMAP science objectives are to acquire space-based hydrosphere state measurements over a three-year period to:

-Understand processes that link the terrestrial water, energy and carbon cycles
-Estimate global water and energy fluxes at the land surface
-Quantify net carbon flux in boreal landscapes
-Enhance weather and climate forecast skill
-Develop improved flood prediction and drought monitoring capabilities