MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. The Arctica-M No. 1 hydrometeorological satellite has sent over 50 terabytes of data for climate forecasts in the Arctic region over five years of operation, the press service of the Russian Space Systems holding company (RSS, part of the Roscosmos State Space Corporation) reported.

"Our company installed two multi-spectral scanning devices on the first Arctica-M satellite—the ‘eyes’ of the spacecraft, providing a complete image of the Arctic region. The satellite operates continuously, transmitting data to Earth every 15 minutes, promptly processing it, and distributing it through Russian meteorological service Roshydromet’s information channels. Today, two satellites in the system are already in orbit, and we see how important this frequency is for the precision of weather forecasts. In particular, timely weather data ensures the safety of transport logistics along the Northern Sea Route," said Alexander Zaitsev, Head of the RSS Multispectral Scanner System Design and Information Support Sector.

The uniqueness of the Arctica-M satellite constellation is its location at a distance of almost 40,000 kilometers. Monitoring from Arctica complements data from the Elektro-L satellites in geostationary orbit above the equator, from where climate change can be tracked in most regions of the planet, except for the polar regions. The press service noted that under the national project Cosmos, two more upgraded Arctica-M satellites—No. 3 and No. 4—will be in orbit by 2031. RSS specialists are already working on systems for the new polar satellite constellation.