FOX Weather Correspondent Brandy Campbell reports from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where preparations for the Artemis II space mission are underway as NASA revealed the crew members.
The next leap in weather research is here as NASA’s Investigation of Convective Updrafts (INCUS) mission is set to launch soon with the mission to study storms from space.
NASA has completed the first space-based survey of tropical storm dynamics and is nearly ready for the first launch after successful tests of two of the mission’s small satellites.
According to NASA, the third satellite is scheduled for completion no earlier than September, with launch planned for some point in 2027.
Once launched, the three satellites will fly in tight coordination in Earth’s lower orbit.
INCUS will use radar instruments to observe the vertical motion of air and water as storms develop and evolve on our planet.
NASA’s INCUS mission involves three satellites to study tropical storm development on Earth.
(Blue Canyon Technologies)
This will help scientists improve their understanding of where, when, and why convective severe storms occur.
“The mission will also explore how environmental factors such as air temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, and wind direction correlate with that movement, NASA said.
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NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft are rolled out of the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 17, 2026, ahead of the crewed lunar mission. (Photo by Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP via Getty Images)
(Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo / AFP / Getty Images)
The new insights will help improve storm forecasting, with the broader goal of helping communities prepare and plan for severe weather, thereby avoiding large losses of life and property damage.
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After numerous stages of testing for the satellite’s durability, performance, and ability to withstand launch and extreme temperatures in space, the mission is almost ready to observe our planet’s dynamic and natural features, including severe weather.
