SARP

June 18 2012 -- DAOF Randy Albertson Airborne Science Program Deputy Director

Airborne Science Program Mission

Provide airborne platforms, systems, and infrastructure to meet NASA Earth Science requirements
Science and platform agnostic Right tool for the job not Center or favorite asset focused

Program Objectives
Satellite Calibration and Validation
Provide platforms to enable essential calibration measurements for the Earth observing satellites, and the validation of data retrieval algorithms.

Support New Sensor Development

Provide sub-orbital flight opportunities to test and refine new instrument technologies/algorithms, and reduce risk prior to committing sensors for launch into space.

Process Studies
Obtain high-resolution temporal and spatial measurements of complex local processes, which can be coupled to global satellite observations for a better understanding of the complete Earth system.

Develop the Next-Generation of Scientists and Engineers

Foster the development of our future workforce with the hands-on involvement of graduate students, and young scientists/engineers in all aspects of ongoing Earth science investigations.

What does Airborne Science do?

Facilitate access to airborne assets capable of supporting NASAs scientific measurements
Core, Catalog, Cooperative and New technology
Insures compliance with NPD 7900.4b, SMD, NASA and OMB reporting requirements and NASA airworthiness authority and liability.

Provide capabilities to enhance/enable scientific measurements

Mission/Project Management and Logistics Science support systems Airborne networks
Approvals for Laser and Radiation, dropsonde release, pressure vessel safety, HAZMAT safety, EMI, foreign clearances, etc

Optimize the use of resources

Science Requirement

Measurements

Platforms

Science Measurement Requirement Inputs

NASA Airborne Science Aircraft

80000 21km 70000

(2) WB-57

(2) ER-2

(2) Global Hawk

60000 15km

Altitude (feet)

50000

(1) Lear 25

(2) G-III (1) DC-8 (1) Falcon (3) B-200/UC12 (1) Ikhana
9km

40000

30000

(1) S-3B (1) P-3B

20000

(1) Twin Otter (1) Sherpa (1) SIERRA

10 15 20 25 30 3km

10000

0 5 Red indicates full Core funding Blue indicates partial funding GIII: one fully funded, one partial funded

Endurance (hours)

Aircraft Support of Required Measurements

Summary of the National Science Objectives, established by the six focus areas, for sustained suborbital Earth Science observation requirements, 50% covered by Manned aircraft another 30% covered by our Unmanned vehicle and 20% still uncovered until new vehicles become operational

NASA Airborne Science Aircraft

80000

(2) ER-2
70000

(2) WB-57

(2) Global Hawk

60000

Altitude (feet)

50000

(1) Lear 25 (1) Falcon (2) G-III (1) Ikhana (1) DC-8

40000

30000

(3) B-200/UC12 20000 (1) Twin Otter

10000

(1) S-3B

(1) P-3B

(1) Sherpa (1) SIERRA

0 0

1000

2000
9

3000

4000

5000

>6000

Range (nm)

NASA Manned Airborne Science Aircraft

(with nadir ports & room to work for 4 + people)
80000

70000

60000

Altitude (feet)

50000

(1) DC-8
40000

30000

(1) Falcon (1) P-3B

20000

(1) Twin Otter (1) Sherpa

10000

0 0

1000

2000
10

3000

4000

5000

>6000

Range (nm)

Other Factors for Science Platforms

Range Speed Payload volume and capacity Power Perspectives Communications/network Operations cost/constraints Basing/airspace

Payload Perspectives

ASP Cross Cutting Infrastructure

NASA Airborne Science Data and Telemetry System (NASDAT) airborne network server and low bandwidth Iridium gateway which captures navigational data as well as allows scientists to talk to their instruments

Experimenter Interface Panel

science instrument to aircraft interface

13

Aircraft Access to Hurricane Forming Regions

GRIP: (Hurricane) Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes Field Experiment

The Global Hawk adds considerable surveillance capability Greater range and duration than DC-8 or ER-2 Allows for extended on-station time in hurricane genesis regions Geosynchronous simulator

Blue line: DC-8 range for 12-h flight, 6 h on station Red lines: GH range for 30-h flight with 15 and 22.5 h on station Light blue X: Genesis locations for 1940-2006

Flight Requests
Completed: FY06 36 FRs for 1307 hours FY07 34 FRs for 996 hours FY08 44 FRs for 1667 hours FY09 70 FRs for 1877 hours FY10 90 FRs for 2694 hours FY11 77 FRs for 2605 hours
- Airborne Science Program (ASP) has investigators fill out flight requests for each research activity. - ASP analyzes for implementation (cost, schedule resources) - HQs program scientists analyze for science merit and alignment - Many times to minimize our flight costs for data collection we are able to incorporate multiple flight requests into one mission.

A Long History of Worldwide Science Field Campaigns

Supporting: stratospheric/tropospheric chemistry, cryospheric science, hurricane observations, atmospheric physics/radiation, terrestrial biosphere studies, satellite cal/val, and instrument development. Outstanding examples of accomplishments in each area: Each badge represents a major multi-platform science campaign Process Study - Atmospheric chemistry - smoking gun for stratospheric chemistry from AAOE demonstrates role of chlorine in destroying polar ozone Environmental Characterizations - airborne lidar observations of the Greenland ice sheet; and the effects of large-scale biomass burning in the Amazon & S. Africa Satellite Validation - CRYSTAL/FACE: detailed in situ observations of clouds being observed from satellites; SAFARI 2000: validating MODIS aerosol algorithms Instrumentation R&D - initial tests of remote sensing technologies: Aquarius/sea surface salinity sensor; ICESat/Lidars; TRMM/Doppler Radars; & many others

Historical NASA Deployment Sites

Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes

The GRIP experiment was a NASA Earth science field experiment in 2010 that was conducted to better understand how tropical storms form and develop into major hurricanes. The experiment was done in collaboration with NOAA and USAF operational hurricane missions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSm7pIKUiCM
ScreencaptureofRealTimeMissionMonitorshowingthe NOAA49&NASAGlobalHawk,DC8,&WB57makinga coordinatedpassoverHurricaneKarleye.ANOAAP3(NOAA 42)&USAFC130werealsosamplingthestormatthisWme.

NASA is using the DC-8 aircraft, the WB-57 aircraft, and the Global Hawk Unmanned Airborne System (UAS) configured with a suite of in situ and remote sensing instruments that are observing and characterizing the lifecycle of hurricanes.
(http://grip.nsstc.nasa.gov/index.html)

GRIP and TRMM Satellite

AcoordinatedpassovertheeyeofhurricaneKarlwiththeNASAGlobalHawkandDC8, withanarrowmissbytheTRMMsatellite.

Operation IceBridge

Photo: M. Studinger

Figure: John Paden/CReSIS iceberg ice surface

MCoRDS radar quick look image

iceberg ice surface
ice/water interface

Snow Radar QC plot

ice/water interface

Accumulation radar quick look image Figure: John Paden/CReSIS

Coordinated Airborne Experiments to Measure CO2 column densities in support of ASCENDS Mission Definition
LaRC/ITT Acclaim lidar instrument in NASA UC-12 GSFC Airborne CO2 lidar instrument in NASA Lear-25 JPL Airborne CO2 lidar instrument in Twin Otter

LaRC & ITT instr. team, LaRC aircraft Ed Browell/LaRC, Team Leader Instrument development via ITT, Earth Science AITT funding

GSFC team, NASA Glenn aircraft Jim Abshire/GSFC, Team Leader Instrument development via ESTO ACT & IIP programs, GSFC IRAD

JPL team, Twin Otter aircraft Gary Spiers/JPL, Team Leader Instrument development via Coherent Techn., ESTO ACT program, JPL IRAD

Objective: Measure & compare CO2 column densities over calibration sites with developmental lidar candidates for the ASCENDS mission Approach: Simultaneous CO2 measurement flights at different altitudes over well calibrated areas: DOE SGP ARM site (Lamont, OK): 7/28 - 8/4/09 North Carolina & Eastern Shore VA 8/17/09 Collaborate with DOE/LBL & Caltech researchers for in-situ & ground-based FTS measurements

Technology Development Global Hawk Instruments

Land, Vegetation, & Ice Sensor (LVIS)

This task will Integrate the LVIS capability onto the Global Hawk and provide an automated, reliable package for high altitude measurements.

Global Ozone Lidar Demonstrator (GOLD)

GOLD will enable, for the first time, Ozone LIDAR measurements from a high-altitude aircraft that support global atmospheric composition and climate change investigations.

UAVSAR
The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAVSAR) project will install two existing UAVSAR pods on a UAV for the first time. On Global Hawk, UAVSAR will generate precise topographic maps and single-pass polarimetric interferograms of ice and vegetation.

Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO)

Airborne Program Infrastructure

Ability to Implement

Platforms Sensors Data Systems Facilities People

- Complex Field Campaigns - Process Study, Satellite Cal/Val, Tech Demo, or combination - Single/Multiple Platform/Instrument - Remote or Local Deployment with up to several hundred people - NASA-only or with partners - Incorporating forecast/models, satellite data, and ground/balloon instrumentation - Campaigns can have significant student involvement and EPO potential

Sensor Integration
J.P. Mahoney, JPL, overseeing Microwave Temperature Profiler integration. Sensor integration area next to Global Hawks

6/23/12

Albertson

New Ku-band satcom antenna on Global Hawk during GloPac integration23

Disaster Response
Mosaic of MASTER flight lines over Wallow fire June 16, 2011

Coherence image of Haitis Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault purple indicates low coherence, which may be due to mudslide, water runoff, or vegetation change

ER-2 flight tracks during Gulf Oil Spill Response

Unique NASA-only Heavy Lift High Altitude Fleet (50k+ feet)

ER-2 (2)

WB-57F (2)

Global Hawk Range/ Endurance Rings

Global Hawk (2)

Unique NASA-only Reconfigurable Large Flying Laboratories

-Internal Comm and Data Networks -Onboard satcom sensor web networks -Dropsonde Ejectors -Specialized Racks for quick payload reconfiguration -Nadir and Zenith ports with sensor attachment provision -Wing hard points for sensor mounting -Specialized ports for probe mounts with CFD Analysis -Common Aircraft State data to Sensor broadcast

Other Programs that make use of Airborne

Organizations outside of Earth Science

Planetary Science: Astromaterials & Astrobiology, (Cosmic Dust collections, SETI (Leonids/Aurids imagery & MSL Descent Radar tests) Heliophysics Science: Radiation Measurements Space Operations: (WAVE imagery of Shuttle missions, Columbia debris field imagery, telemetry and ESA-ATV imagery) Aeronautics: (Alternative aviation fuel emissions study & fiber optic wing shaping sensors) Other government agencies: DoD, NOAA, DOE, DHS

How Can Airborne Data and Policymakers Benefit Society

How policy has protected our planet

6/23/12

Using Airborne Science facilities scientists collect the data that lead to the determination that CFCs are the main contributor to ozone hole formation

28

Summary
ASP Objectives
Satellite Cal/Val New Sensor and Algorithm development Process Studies Next Generation of Scientist and Engineers

Science Aircraft
Modified and capable

ASP Provides the infrastructure and personnel to conduct these investigations in accordance with NASA, national and international policies and regulations Support National Science Objectives to provide the policymakers with the information to benefit society