US-SPACE-NASA

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden (L) comments on the propulsion subsystem unit while walking with Lead System Engineer for the SMAP Satellite, Wayne Lee (R), at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California on August 13, 2013, where NASA Administrator Charles Bolden came to see the progress and assembly of the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite presently under construction and due to launch in October 2014. SMAP will produce global maps of soil moisture for tracking water availability around the planet, and will also detect winter freeze and spring thaw to track changes in growing season patterns, allowing scientists to determine how much carbon plants take up from the atmosphere each year. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN (Photo credit should read FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)