In 2015, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched the Soil Moisture Active Passive satellite, an orbiting observatory that maps soil moisture content. The main objective of the satellite is to provide global maps of soil moisture to gain a deeper understanding of the water and carbon cycles. The data, however, has many practical applications: it can be used in climate and weather studies to help predict and monitor natural disasters such as droughts, wildfires, floods and landslides; to improve agricultural productivity; in improving public health by enhancing early warning systems.