SMOS

active

Earth ObservationLEOCOSPAR 2009-059ALaunched 11/2/2009

Admin Edit

Mission & Launch

Launch Mission: SMOS/Proba-2
Launch Vehicle: Rokot
Launch Date: 11/2/2009

Orbit & Mass

Orbit Class: LEO
Altitude: 759 km
Inclination: 98.45 deg
Dry Mass: 630 kg
Total Mass: 658 kg

Payload Classification

Mission Type

Earth Observation

Payload Category

EOSCI

Payload Class

C

Organizations

Operator: European Space Agency (ESA)
Manufacturer: Thales Alenia Space

Registry

COSPAR ID: 2009-059A
UN Registration: ST/SG/SER.E/619

Track

Mentions

4

All verified mentions of this spacecraft in source documents.

SMOS, an ESA Earth Explorer, uses L-band microwave observations to monitor soil moisture and vegetation optical depth.

CapabilityGeneralValue 4.5Nov 12, 2025ESA satellites track progress on Paris Agreement goals

HydroGNSS will ensure there are no data gaps when missions such as ESA's SMOS and NASA's SMAP end.

CapabilityGeneralValue 2.2Sep 29, 2025HydroGNSS: ESA’s first Scout smallsat begins launch preparations

Sener Aerospace’s work has supported missions and programs including HRE, SEOSAT/Ingenio, CHIME, LSTM, Hubble, Rosetta, SMOS, Pléiades, Herschel & Planck, JUICE, Athena, Solar Orbiter, Proba-3, Gaia, BepiColombo, ExoMars, Curiosity, Euclid, LISA Pathfinder, MTG, FLEX, LOP Gateway, Mars2020, Earth Explorers, COPERNICUS, and Galileo.

GeneralCapabilityValue 2.3Feb 1, 2023Sener Aerospace’s scanner mechanisms contracted for the Forum mission by ESA

Malfunctioning circuits on Japanese direct broadcast satellite receivers have interfered with microwave sensors operating in the 1.4 to 1.47 GHz range, making it extremely difficult for the European Space Agency’s SMOS satellite and NASA’s SMAP satellite to monitor Japan.

CapabilityValue 4.5Mar 27, 20195G trumps meteorology as FCC rebuffs NASA, NOAA call to halt auction