Title: Innovative Technologies Contributing to Future Earth Science Capabilities
1- Innovative Technologies Contributing to Future
Earth Science Capabilities - Presented to Working Group on Space-Based Lidar
Winds - June 17, 2009
George J. Komar Associate Director/Program
Manager Earth Science Technology Office
2Earth Science Division Overview
- Overarching goal to advance Earth System
science, including climate studies, through
spaceborne data acquisition, research and
analysis, and predictive modeling - Six major activities
- Building and operating Earth observing satellite
missions, many with international and interagency
partners - Making high-quality data products available to
the broad science community - Conducting and sponsoring cutting-edge research
in 6 thematic focus areas - Field campaigns to complement satellite
measurements - Modeling
- Analyses of non-NASA mission data
- Applied Science
- Developing technologies to improve Earth
observation capabilities - Education and Public Outreach
3Why Do Technology?
- Enable previously unforeseen or infeasible
science investigations - Far infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere
(FIRST) - first ever complete infrared emission
spectrum of the Earth (key data for global change
studies) - Gravity gradiometer - for measurements of the
sub-surface structure of the solid and fluid
Earth - Enhance existing measurement or operational
capabilities - New, radiation tolerant low-power transceiver
- Electronic design tools accelerate design and
analysis of Field Programmable Gate Arrays -
- Reduce cost, risk, or development times
- Mass and size reductions (AIRS-Light, MISR-2)
4Approach to Technology Development
- Science driven, competed, actively managed,
dynamically communicated - Competitive, peer-reviewed proposals enable
selection of best-of-class technology investments - Risks are retired before major dollars are
invested a cost-effective approach to technology
development and validation - This approach has resulted in
- a portfolio of emerging technologies that will
enhance and/or enable future science measurements - a growing number of infusion successes
-
- technologies are infused into science campaigns,
instruments, ground systems and missions - infusion is by competitive selection by science
investigators or mission managers, not the
technology program
5NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey Missions
Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity
Observatory (CLARREO)
Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HYSPIRI)
LIDAR Surface Topography (LIST)
Precipitation and All-Weather Temperature and
Humidity (PATH)
Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions (ASCENDS)
Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment - II
(GRACE - II)
Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)
Ice, Cloud,and land Elevation Satellite II
(ICESat-II)
Snow and Cold Land Processes (SCLP)
Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events
(GEO-CAPE)
Three-Dimensional Winds from Space Lidar
(3D-Winds)
Deformation, Ecosystem Structure and Dynamics of
Ice (DESDynI)
Aerosol - Cloud - Ecosystems (ACE)
Global Atmospheric Composition Mission (GACM)
Tier I
Tier II
Tier III
6NASA Earth Science Decadal Survey Missions Using
Lasers
Climate Absolute Radiance and Refractivity
Observatory (CLARREO)
Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HYSPIRI)
LIDAR Surface Topography (LIST)
Precipitation and All-Weather Temperature and
Humidity (PATH)
Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions (ASCENDS)
Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP)
Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment - II
(GRACE - II)
Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT)
Ice, Cloud,and land Elevation Satellite II
(ICESat-II)
Snow and Cold Land Processes (SCLP)
Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events
(GEO-CAPE)
Three-Dimensional Winds from Space Lidar
(3D-Winds)
Deformation, Ecosystem Structure and Dynamics of
Ice (DESDynI)
Aerosol - Cloud - Ecosystems (ACE)
Global Atmospheric Composition Mission (GACM)
Tier I
Tier II
Tier III
7Examples of ESTO Investments Lasers
CLARREO
HyspIRI
LIST
Far-infrared spectrometer UV-SWIR spectrometer
High rep-rate lasers Swath-imaging laser altimeter
Thermal IR spectrometers
SMAP
ASCENDS
PATH
L-band radiometer/radar RFI mitigation
CO2 Sounder Fiber-based lasers
2-D thinned array sounder Hi-freq. MMIC receivers
ICESat-II
SWOT
GRACE-II
One micron laser technology Diode life testing
Ka-band interferometric SAR Ku and Ka-band
downconverters
Laser range transceiver Frequency-stabilized
lasers
DESDynI
GEO-CAPE
SCLP
L-band InSAR T/R modules Laser beam steering
UV-Vis-NIR spectrometers IR mapping spectrometer
Ku-band MMIC T/R modules Onboard SAR processor
ACE
GACM
Multi-angle polarimeter High spectral resolution
lidar Dual-frequency radar Ocean color
spectrometer
UV-Vis-IR spectrometers Scanning microwave sounder
3D-Winds
Tier I
UV direct detection and two micron coherent
instruments
Tier II
Tier III
8Examples of ESTO Investments Lasers
Technologies for a Combined HSRL and O3 DIAL
(ACE Mission)- Hostetler, NASA LaRC
CO2 Laser Sounder for the ASCENDS Mission-
Abshire, NASA GSFC
DAWN Doppler Aerosol WiNd Lidar (3D-Winds
Mission)- Kavaya, NASA LaRC
Efficient Swath Mapping Laser Altimetry (LIST
Mission) - Yu, NASA GSFC
9Roadmap to 3-D Winds Space Mission
Technology
Science
NRC Decadal Survey 3-D Winds Space Mission
Current
Future
22
ESD 200M
Aircraft Science Flights
15
10
14
GRIP Hurricane Campaign
ESD 0.6M
12
10
DAWN-AIR2
ESTO 1.5M
DAWN-AIR1
11
09
ESD 1M
10
08
Ground Intercomparison
ESD 0.3M
08
IPP
09
ESD 0.5M
DAWN
10
08
06
08
ESTO 2.9M
LRRP
ESTO 40M
02
ATIP
09
Funded Projects
98
01
ESTO 1M
Past
Current
Technology
10New Mission Classes (ESD)
- Foundational
- Glory (1/2010)
- Aquarius (5/2010)
- NPP (1-6/2010)
- LDCM (12/2012) (w/o TIRS)
- GPM (7/2013, 11/2015)
- National Needs
- Carbon Recovery (vice-OCO)
- TIRS (LDCM or free-flyer)
- DSCOVR
- SAGE-III
- GIFTS
- Decadal Survey
- Venture-Class (2009, 2011, )
- SMAP (3/2014)
- ICESAT-II (2015)
- CLARREO
- DESDynI (SAR, LIDAR)
- Tier-2 (5 missions)
- Tier-3 (6 missions)
- Climate/Operational
- Vector Winds (vice QuikSCAT)
- Space Weather (vice ACE)
- Ocean color, Aerosols (vice MODIS)
- Nadir Altimetry (vice OSTM/Jason-2)
- GPSRO
- Broad-band Radiation Bud.(CERES)
- R 2 O infusion
11Earth Science Technology Challanges
- Active Remote Sensing Technologies to
enable atmospheric, cryospheric and earth
surface measurements - Large Deployables
to enable future weather/climate/ natural
hazards measurements - Intelligent
Distributed Systems using advanced
communication, on-board reprogrammable
processors, autonomous network control, data
compression, high density storage -
Information Knowledge Capture through 3-D
visualization, holographic memory and seamlessly
linked models.
12Conclusions and Current Status
- Currently funded technologies are providing
state-of-the-art instruments, components, and
information systems capabilities for a wide range
of Earth science measurements. - New awards for instrument, component, and
information system technologies are being
selected by NASA. These technologies will
provide new capabilities that will enable the
Earth Science Decadal Survey missions. - Active remote sensing systems are a major and
substantial key to the future success of Earth
Science advances.
http//esto.nasa.gov
13Technology Enables our Future