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Front view of the prototype salinity instrument PALS
Front view of the prototype salinity instrument, PALS (Passive/Active L- and S-band radiometer).
Aquarius Prototype, PALS
Source: NASA Aquarius
[23-Feb-2009] Before the actual Aquarius satellite could be launched into space to begin recording sea surface salinity measurements, there were "proof of concept" salinity sensors to be built and tested on airplanes. This image shows the prototype salinity instrument, PALS (Passive/Active L- and S-band radiometer). This prototype for the Aquarius instrument was developed and tested at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before being deployed on a C-130 aircraft and flown over the ocean.

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