A new space-based device has been launched by NASA that will work to predict volcanic eruptions by observing gasses like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, which can be warning signs of volcanic activity, the agency reported.
The device, named the "Nanosat Atmospheric Chemistry Hyperspectral Observation Station," or NACHOS, weighs in at just 13 pounds and is the smallest space-based device with the highest resolution dedicated to observing gasses, according to NASA.
While NACHOS is only a prototype, NASA plans to deploy the miniature device, which launched aboard a recent resupply mission to the International Space Station, in May 2022 when the spacecraft it is aboard detaches, putting it in low Earth orbit.
While in orbit, NACHOS will be able to detect gasses in areas as small as .15 square miles, which is roughly the size of the Mall of America, NASA shared.
In NASA's press release, Steve Love, a researcher with the Space and Remote Sensing group at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, shared how NACHOS could detect the eruptions.
"A dormant volcano just waking up may emit [sulfur dioxide] before there is any detectable seismic activity. That gives us a chance to identify a potentially erupting volcano before it actually blows," Love said.
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However, NACHOS has researchers with NASA hopeful that it will do more than predict eruptions. The release said they plan to use it to monitor the air quality around cities, neighborhoods, and individual power plants.
Love explained that this would do more than protect from mass events, but also daily health.
"When we recognize that these gasses are present and can localize their sources on a sub-kilometer scale, we have the opportunity to take action and minimize negative health outcomes," Love said.
Being lightweight and small, coming in at about the size of a football, scientists are excited as NACHOS is smaller than any other satellite currently being used to observe gasses.
"There are excellent instruments in orbit gathering data on atmospheric trace gasses. But they are expensive to produce and maintain," Love said.
Love continued saying, "More power and less weight set NACHOS apart and make it an excellent candidate for future atmospheric trace gas missions."
Once in orbit, NACHOS will circle the earth for a year until it is replaced by another instrument, NASA shared.
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