Innovative Technologies Contributing to Future Earth Science Capabilities

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• 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
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Earth 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

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Why 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)

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Approach 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

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NASA 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
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NASA 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
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Examples 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
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Examples 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
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Roadmap 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
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Funded Projects
98
01
ESTO 1M
Past
Current
Technology
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New 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

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Earth 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.
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Conclusions 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
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Technology Enables our Future