Glenn Prescott

1
The Role of Advanced Information System
Technology in Remote Sensing for NASA's Earth
Science Enterprise
Glenn Prescott Office of Earth Science, NASA
HQ Steve Smith Earth Science Technology
Office Karen Moe Earth Science Technology Office
2
NASAs Strategy for Remote Sensing

• Past approach focused on Large complex platforms
• Multiple instruments performing diverse
  measurements
• Data transmitted to ground and stored in large
  archives
• Scientists accessed data to derive information
• Present and near-term approach focuses on
  cheaper, lighter platforms
• Single mission platforms
• Instruments have higher precision, resolution
  and timeliness
• Larger quantities of data to be transferred,
  stored and analyzed
• The future strategy for NASA Earth Science
  measurements is defined by the Earth Science
  Vision.

3
Challenge of the Earth Science Vision

• The Goal
• Modeling and assessment will evolve from
  characterizing the earth through a variety of
  independent measurements to assessing and
  forecasting the state of the Earth System based
  on the fusion of multiple, diverse scientific
  measurements.
• The Implementation
• A constellation of small, instrumented satellites
  as well as airborne and in-situ instruments,
  networked together into an organic measurement
  system.
• High speed data links and internetworking tie
  the system together
• Intelligent on-board systems allow sensor
  autonomy
• On-board signal and data processing give more
  options to the scientist

4
Challenge of the Earth Science Vision
5
Challenge of the Earth Science Vision

• Technology Features
• Autonomous operation allows each sensor to react
  to significant measurement events on and above
  the Earth, increasing precision and coverage
  where needed, without human intervention.
• On-board signal processing capability allows
  scientists the option of configuring instrument
  parameters on demand and controlling on-board
  algorithms to preprocess the data for information
  extraction.
• High speed information systems route user
  requests to specific instruments and maximize the
  transfer rate of data to processing and archive
  facilities on the ground.

The key element in integrating all of the
component parts of the sensor web is information
technology
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The Role of Information Technology

• Information technology ties the sensor web
  together and provides a degree of control and
  access to space-based instruments that does not
  currently exist.
• Information technology challenges can be broadly
  classified into categories relating to
• Satellite on-board functions pertaining to
  collection, processing and transmission of data
• Ground based functions pertaining to data
  management, analysis, and information extraction
• Long range planning is required for technologies
  needed to bring the Earth science vision into
  reality. NASA engages scientists, engineers and
  technologists to determine the priority
  technologies that will provide the capabilities
  needed to implement the Earth science vision.
• These key technologies are described in terms of
  ground based and space based needs

7
Space-Based Information Technology

• High Speed Data Delivery
• Technologies increasing bandwidth available for
  space/ground communications
• Data Compression and Storage
• Techniques and devices for efficient on-board
  storage and maximizing bandwidth utilization
• Space Based Computing Architectures
• Techniques for implementing (radiation tolerant
  and reconfigurable) high-speed data and signal
  processing systems
• Intelligent Platform and Sensor Control
• Technologies enabling autonomous goal-directed
  operations of one or more cooperating satellites

8
Space-Based Information Technology

• ESTO Key Investments Needed to Evolve toward the
  ESV
• High Speed Data Delivery
• High Data Rate Communications
• Satellite IP Network
• Data Compression and Storage
• Lossless and Lossy Data Compression
• Onboard Storage Architecture
• Space Based Computing Architectures
• Microprocessor and Board/Bus Technology
• Intelligent Platform and Sensor Control
• Platform Autonomy
• Navigation Technologies

9
Key Investments High-Speed Data Delivery
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
High Data Rate Communication
X-Band Technologies
Ka-Band Technologies
Optical Technologies
Addresses the need for ever increasing rates of
data transfer from satellite to ground, and even
from satellite to satellite. Increasing operating
frequency permits greater bandwidth and hence
higher data rates.
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Satellite IP Network
Onboard Routers Switches
IP over Sat w/ larger network
IP Networks on Satellites
TDRSS Supports Routable Nets
Flight Qual End-to-end IP
IP to the Instrument
TCP Over Satellite
Sensor webs, or groups for formation flying
spacecraft will need to have intra-constellation
connectivity in order to hand off processing
tasks, route data and enable navigation.
10
Key Investments Data Compression and Storage
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Lossless Lossy Data Compression
20 Msps 21 Comp Ratio
JPEG Lossy Comp
80 Msps 21 Comp Ratio
ROI Lossy Comp
80 Msps 31 Comp Ratio
220 Msps 51 Comp Ratio
High Performance Feature Identification for
Preferential Compression
Allows more efficient use of available bandwidth.
When combined with feature identification, can
significantly increase the quantity of useful
scientific data collected in a time interval
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Onboard Storage Architecture
Mag/Optical Hybrid Planar0.002 bits/µm3300
Mbits/sec
Volumetric/Optical 1st Generation0.05
bits/µm3500 Mbits/sec
Volumetric/Optical 2nd Generation0.1 bits/µm31
Gbits/sec
Solid State
Volumetric/Optical 3rd Generation0.2 bits/µm32
Gbits/sec
Instruments having greater precision and
resolution will require larger amounts of
on-board storage. May also enable effective
pre-processing of the data.
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Key Investments Space-Based Computing
Architectures
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Microprocessor, Board and Bus Technology
3 - 4 GIPS Processor
Rad Hardened Sandia Pentium
High Bandwidth Optical Bus (Gbps)
High Performance Boards (100s MIPS)
FPGA Tool Sets
On-board processors will need to be
reconfigurable in order to be used for data and
signal processing tasks. Field Programmable Gate
Array technology will be an essential element.
12
Key Investments Intelligent Platform and Sensor
Control
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Platform Autonomy
Agent-based Reference Arch for multiple
autonomous spacecraft (50)
Remote Agent Arch for single autonomous spacecraft
Experimental Arch for multiple autonomous
spacecraft (3)
Experimental Reference Arch for multiple
autonomous spacecraft (5)
Autonomy will be an essential part of platform
control. Intelligent systems will control the
sensor web and integrate the platform with sensor
measurement requirements.
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Navigation Technologies
Onboard GPS tracking
Differential GPS and Lidar Systems
Self-calibrating nav systems
High precision control of cluster satellites
Precise navigation is essential for formation
flying and a variety of precise geospatial
measurements.
13
Ground-Based Information Technology

• Large Archival Storage
• Mass storage systems geared for Long Term Arc.
  with very large capacity and throughput
  requirements
• Data Architecture
• Technical approaches enabling interoperability,
  scalability, and evolvability of data management
  systems
• Data Discovery
• Techniques for finding and accessing data that
  are possibly unknown to the user or otherwise
  buried in large stores of complex information
• Data Exploitation
• Technologies enabling application of algorithms
  and data to extract or project knowledge from one
  or more sources
• ESTO Key Investments Needed to Evolve toward the
  ESV

14
Key Investments Large Archival Storage
High-Performance Evolvable Archives
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Proprietary FSMS
Swath DBMS
High-Performance Evolvable FSMS
Advanced Media Benchmarks
Many current file storage management systems are
proprietary. However these will evolve through
storage, archival, and retrieval standards.
15
Key Investments Data Architecture
Earth Science Data Services Representation
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Research Code for Limited Semantic Extraction,
Basic Earth Science Information Representation
Living Data Lineage Technique
Effective Knowledge Representation
The association of valuable content descriptions
and knowledge representation with sets of data to
facilitate finding data that was previously
unknown to the user of the system. Includes data
exploitation tools for search, fusion and mining.
Extract semantic information from data set to
describe the contents of a file in
machine-readable terms such that an application
can interpret the data in an intelligent manner
16
Key Investments Data Discovery
Knowledge Extraction
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Research Code for Limited Knowledge Extraction /
Change Detection
Pilot Extraction Tool Set
Automatic Change Detection Task Initiation for
Sensor Webs
Use of knowledge features, regions, models,
objects, and semantics to detect changes in
environment then automatically task sensor webs
to monitor regions of interest.
Enable transformation of data from one or more
sources into knowledge - Data visualization -
Feature extraction - Data fusion - Data mining
- Semantic mapping
17
Key Investments Data Exploitation
Information Access and Delivery
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
2006 2007 2008 2009
2010 2011
Adaptive / Customized Subscription / Advertising
Services
Independent Subscriptions
Partner on URN Technology
Real-time event recognition products on demand
Users can independently subscribe to data products
Earth Science Data Exploitation infrastructure
- Combine data products and services - Tools for
finding and obtaining data - Pilot set of
reusable components - Provide web sites with
mining systems, tools and services for science
community
Push/pull data knowledge delivery when an event
is recognized
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Summary

• A primary enabler of the Earth Science Vision is
  Information Technology we call it Advanced
  Information Systems Technology and manage it as
  a program.
• NASAs Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO)
  has the task of assuring that needed technologies
  will be ready
• All planning is accomplished by collaborating
  with research scientists, engineers and
  technologists
• The technologies described here are high on
  ESTOs investment priority list
• For current information on investments and
  planning activities