The European Space Agency (ESA) is set to launch a new environmental satellite on November 2nd — the SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission will measure soil moisture over the Earth's landmasses and salinity over the oceans. As a member of the European industrial consortium set up to develop and build this satellite, RUAG Space has delivered the first ever fibre-optic data transmission system to be used on board a European satellite, as well as the craft's central control computer, payload structure, and thermal insulation. The satellite is due to be launched from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia using a Rockot launch vehicle. For the SMOS mission, RUAG Space built the first-ever fibre-optic cable system to be installed on board a European satellite. It will transmit the data collected by the 69 receivers that make up the SMOS antenna to a central computer, together with a reference clock signal used to synchronise the antenna receivers. The cable system, which was built by RUAG in Switzerland, comprises almost 1 km of fibre-optic cable as well as one large and 84 small converters for converting electrical signals into optical signals and vice versa.

The SMOS satellite carries a single measuring instrument, the Microwave Imaging Radiometer using Aperture Synthesis (MIRAS). This instrument comprises a central hub and a Y-shaped deployable antenna array which incorporates 69 antenna receivers for measuring the electromagnetic radiation emitted by the land surface of Earth and its oceans. Given that this radiation fluctuates in line with variations in soil moisture and ocean salinity, these two parameters can be determined from the measurement data recorded. Environmental scientists and climate researchers are interested in such data because they provide a better understanding of the global water cycle. Although this cycle is vitally important for the continuation of life on Earth, and also has a tremendous influence on the world’s climate, researchers as yet know relatively little about it. The SMOS satellite is based on the generic Proteus platform developed by the French space agency CNES.