1
NASA Earth Science Report to ET-SAT
Dr. Jack Kaye*
Associate Director for Research
Earth Science Division
Science Mission Directorate
NASA Headquarters
• This talk is prepared with input and assistance from numerous
colleagues at NASA HQ, NASA centers, and the broader research
community!
• April 4, 2017
Landsat 9
(2020)
PACE (2022)
NISAR (2022)
SWOT (2021)
TEMPO (2018)
JPSS-2 (NOAA)
RBI, OMPS-Limb (2018)
GRACE-FO (2) (2018)
ICESat-2 (2018)
CYGNSS (>2018)
ISS SORCE, (2017)
TCTE (NOAA) NISTAR, EPIC (2019)
(NOAA’S DSCOVR) QuikSCAT (2017)
EO-1 (2017) Landsat 7
(USGS)
(~2022)
Terra (>2021)
Aqua(>2022)
CloudSat (~2018)
CALIPSO (>2022)
Aura (>2022)
SMAP (>2022)
Suomi NPP
(NOAA) (>2022)
Landsat 8 (USGS) (>2022)
GPM (>2022)
OCO-2 (>2022)
GRACE (2) (2018)
OSTM/Jason 2 (>2022)
(NOAA)
(Pre)Formulation
Implementation
Primary Ops
Extended
Ops
Earth Science Instruments on ISS: CATS, (2020)
LIS, (2020)
SAGE III, (2020)
TSIS-1, (2018)
ECOSTRESS, (2017)
GEDI, (2018)
OCO-3, (2018)
CLARREO-PF, (2020)
TSIS-2 (2020)
Sentinel-6A/B (2020, 2025)
MAIA (~2021)
TROPICS (~2021)
geoCARB (~2021)
Formulation
Implementation
Primary Ops
Extended
Ops
InVEST/Cubesats
MiRaTA (2017)
RAVAN (2016)
IceCube (2017)
HARP (2017)
TEMPEST-D (2018)
RainCube (2018*)
CubeRRT (2018*)
CIRiS (2018*)
CIRAS (2018*)
LMPC (----)
*Target date, not yet
manifested
FY17 ESD Program of Record
Overview of Talk
NASA Earth Science Satellite Fleet and Changes • Launches – CYGNSS (12/16), SAGE III/LIS to ISS (2/17);
CubeSat(s) from InVEST (RAVAN 11/16)
• Selections – MAIA, TROPICS (3/16), GeoCARB (12/16)
• Endings – End of RapidScat (11/16), EO-1 (3/17)
• Advances – Many missions have advanced through Key Decision Points as they move forward
• Uncertainty – Administration’s FY18 “Skinny Budget” calls for termination of development activities 3 missions (PACE, OCO-3, CLARREO-PF) and termination of analysis activities for Earth viewing instruments on DSCOVR.
Activities Related to Current and Future Satellites • Satellite Calibration Interconsistency Study Program
• US Participating Investigator Program
• USGEO Satellite Needs Working Group
• NASA/ESA Joint Program Planning Group
• Surface-Based and Airborne Measurements – cal/val and complementary observations
Most Recent Launches
CYGNSS (via Orbital Science Pegasus)– December 15, 2016
SAGE III and LIS to ISS (via SpaceX Falcon 9)– February 19, 2017
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CYGNSS Constellation Deployment
5 Artists’s Conception of Deployment
Direct Overpass of TC Enawo near Madagascar
FM02 overpass of Tropical Cyclone Enawo on 6 March 2017 at 18:47 – 18:52 UTC Normalized bistatic radar scattering cross section (NBRCS, Level 1B science data product) along storm transect matched against GDAS ground truth winds JTWC reported Vmax = 56 m/s on 7 March at 06:00 UTC GDAS Vmax = 34 m/s probably too low by 25-50%
BRCS (left)
Scattering Area (right)
From CYGNSS Project (C. Ruf, PI)
SAGE III/ISS First-Light O3 Profile
April 13, 2017 From J. Zawodny/LaRC
ISS/LIS First Image
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Near Real Time Latest 12 Hour Browse Image
From R. Blakesley/MSFC and R. Kakar/NASA HQ
SAGE III (2017)
CATS (2015-) HICO (2009-2014)
GEDI (2019) ECOSTRESS (2017)
OCO-3 (2018)
RapidSCAT (2014-)
ISERV (2012-2015)
LIS (2017)
CLARREO Pathfinders (CY2019)
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MAIA Instrument
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/missions/multi-angle-imager-for-aerosols-maia/
Observations of small atmospheric aerosols from the Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols
(MAIA) will be combined with health information to determine the toxicity of different
particulate matter types in airborne pollutants over the world’s major cities. MAIA uses a
twin-camera instrument that will make radiometric and polarimetric measurements
needed to characterize the sizes, compositions, and quantities of particulate matter in air
pollution. David Diner of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California,
is the principal investigator.
https://tropics.ll.mit.edu
TROPICS provides
up to 30-minute
refresh over entire
tropical cyclone
latitude band
R. Atlas
R. Bennartz
M. DeMaria
J. Dunion
F. Marks
R. Rogers
C. Velden
Measures temperature,
humidity, precipitation
from a constellation of up
to 12 cubesats
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The GeoCARB Instrument
Warm
Optical
Bench
Radiator
Cold Optical
Bench Radiator
Electronics
Radiator
Calibration
Diffuser
Dual Axis Scan
Mirror System
Aperture
Entrance and Baffles
X Y
Z - Nadir
1.295m
Instrument Complement
• Measures O2 , CO2, CH4,and CO (and SIF)
• Scanning IR slit spectrometer (0.76, 1.61, 2.06, 2.34 μm)
• 3-5 km resolution
From Berrien
Moore/OU, Dean
Read/LMCO
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GeoCARB
Possible scan blocks at an
85°West orbital slot
Moving the slit from East to
West, geoCARB provides
continental-scale “mapping-
like” coverage
From Berrien Moore/OU, Dean Read/LMCO
Looking Forward in Earth Science
Technology Instrument Incubator Program (IIP)
17 new projects awarded in early FY17 to develop scalable instrument architectures to enable
science from cubesats, smallsats, and larger platforms. Numerous airborne flight tests of
emerging instruments are also planned for 2017, including: internal ice sheet temperature, wind
measurements using sounding technique, and thermal imaging using microbolometers.
Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) New awards are expected in 2017 for innovative operations, computational, and data-centric
technologies, as well as in the areas of satellite sensor webs, automation, artificial intelligence, and
machine learning. The AIST program anticipates further innovation in virtual/augmented reality for
science visualization and progress in SAR and GNSS data exploitation.
Advanced Component Technologies (ACT) A solicitation will be released in 2017 seeking a new cohort of critical components and
subsystems for advanced instruments and observing systems.
In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) 3 CubeSat validation project are scheduled to launch in 2017:
March - IceCube will validate 883 GHz sub-mm radiometer for cloud ice remote sensing; and HARP
will demonstrate a 2-4 km wide FOV hyperangular polarimeter for cloud & aerosol characterization.
June – MiRaTA will validate a new microwave radiometer and GPSRO technology for all-weather
sounding.
Ob
se
rva
tio
n
Sustainable Land Imaging-Technology (SLI-T)
Six new new technology studies, selected through a competitive solicitation in 2016, are
underway to enable and reduce costs for future land imaging (Landsat) measurements.
Info
rma
tio
n
Va
lid
ati
on
ESTO Technology Developments for Future Earth Science Measurements
U-Class Candidate Development Satellites
TEMPEST-D Colorado State University
Launch: March 2018
5 Frequency mm-Wave
Radiometer
Technology demonstrator
measuring the transition of
clouds to precipitation
RainCube Jet Propulsion Lab
Launch: March 2018
CubeRRT Ohio State University
Launch: March 2018
ESTO InVEST 2015 Program Venture Tech
CIRiS Ball Aerospace
Launch: March 2018
CIRAS Jet Propulsion Lab
Launch: June 2018
Infrared Atmospheric Sounder Demonstrate ability to measure spectrum of upwelling infrared
radiation and validate 2D infrared detector material, a micro pulse tube cryocooler, and a grating spectrometer
Precipitation Radar Validate a new
architecture for Ka-
band radars on
CubeSat platform and
an ultra-compact
deployable Ka-band
antenna
Radiometer RFI Demonstrate
wideband RFI mitigating
backend technologies
vital for future space-
borne microwave
radiometers
Infrared Radiometer Validate an uncooled
imaging infrared (7.5 um to 13 um) radiometer
designed for high radiometric performance
from LEO
Satellite Calibration Interconsistency Study
Provides focused opportunity for intercomparison of data sets from NASA and non-NASA satellites. Most recent selection includes:
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PI Inst. Tite
B. Barnes U. S. Florida Synergistic Multi-Sensor Calibration for Global and Coastal Observations of
Aquatic Environments
A. Colliander NASA/JPL Intercalibration of Low Frequency Brightness Temperature Measurements for
Long-Term Soil Moisture Record
J. Czapia-
Myers U. Arizona Intercalibration of GEO and LEO Sensors Using the Radiometric Calibration
Test Site (RadCaTS) at Railroad Valley, Nevada
D. Doelling NASA/LaRC Open Access Spectral Band Adjustment Factors for Consistent Inter-Satellite
Calibration and Retrievals
E. Fetzer NASA/JPL A Merged Temperature and Water Vapor Record from Modern Sounders
M. Gunshor U. Wisconsin Re-Calibrate Water Vapor Bands from International Geostationary Satellites for
Consistency with AIRS
C. Kummerow Colorado St. U. A Long-Term Satellite Climate Data Record of Global Precipitation
C. Li U. Maryland Producing Consistent Trace Gas Retrievals Through Inter-Calibration of
Hyperspectral UV Measurements from OMI and GOME-2A
H. Norouzi NY City Coll. Of
Tech. A Multi-Sensor Calibration Algorithm for Improving Emissivity Retrieval by
Integrating Microwave Brightness Temperature Diurnal Cycle
L. Strow UMBC A Homogenous Infrared Hyperspectral Radiance and Level 3 Climate Record
Combining NASA AIRS, JPSS CrIS, and EUMETSAT IASI.
E. Vermote NASA/GSFC Toward a Consistent Land Long Term Climate Data Record from Large Field of
View Polar Orbiting Earth Observation Satellites
J. Warner U. Maryland Tropospheric Ammonia Derived from AIRS and CrIS for a More Continuous
Data Record Using a Uniform Retrieval Algorithm
US Participating Investigator Program
Allows US scientists to propose to be part of non-NASA (usually non-US) mission at early stage (5 years). Most recent selections (2016) include:
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Year PI Institution Mission/ Sensor Partner
2016 P. Minnett U. Miami Sentinel-3/PSSG EUMETSAT/
EC
2016 D. Mach USRA US/UEUMETSAT Lightning
Mappers NOAA,
EUMETSAT
2016 E. Vermote GSFC Sentinel-3 EC
2016 S. Saatchi JPL BIOMASS ESA
2016 V. Natraj JPL PSSG EUMETSAT
2016 R. Bennartz Vanderbilt U. Multiple EUMETSAT/
EC
2016 O. Torres GSFC GEMS KMA
Year PI Institution Mission/ Sensor Partner
2014 C. Gentermann RSS, Inc. GCOM-W AMSR-2 (cont.) JAXA
2014 B. Franz GSFC GCOM-C/SGLI JAXA
2014 N. Krotkov GSFC Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI ESA
2014 T. Moore UNH CCI/GLaSS EU
2014 S. Tanelli JPL CPR/EarthCares ESA/JAXA
2014 C. Ao JPL ROPH-PAZ Spain
2014 C. Frankenberg JPL Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI ESA
Agency Count
Agriculture Research Service USDA 2
Bureau of Land Management DOI 3
Bureau of Reclamation DOI 1
Environmental Protection Agency 5
Farm Service Agency USDA 1
Federal Emergency Management Agency DHS 1
Foreign Agricultural Service USDA 3
Forest Service USDA 3
National Agriculture Statistics Service USDA 1
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration DOC 8
National Science Foundation 1
Natural Resources Conservation Service USDA 2
Department of Energy DOE 13
Risk Management Agency USDA 2
U.S. Agency for International Development 9
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service DOI 5
U.S. Geological Survey DOI 17
Grand Total 77
DHS 1 DOC 8 DOE 13 DOI 26
NSF 1 USAID 9 USDA 14 EPA 5
Satellite Needs Working Group - Needs
Submitted by Agency and Department
Examples of NASA-Supported Ground
Networks AGAGE
NDACC
AERONET
MPLNet
ILRS TCCON
PANDORA
SHADOZ
Altitu
de
(km
asl)
Ozo
ne
Mix
ing R
atio
(p
pb
v)
O3-Sonde
Launch DC-8
Overpasses
JPL ESRL
UAH LaRC
GSFC AMES
TORONTO TOLNet: GSFC TROPOZ
DIAL at
Taehwa, Korea 4 May, 2016
TOLNet/TROPOZ measurements at the Taehwa site in support of all aircraft overpasses (black triangle
denotes DC-8). Following a deep cyclonic depression and jet stream trough over the Korean Peninsula, we
observed stratospheric air in the free troposphere. Ozone remained near 40-50 ppbv at the surface for nearly
the entire day. O3-sonde was launched near 03:30 UT to further characterize the stratospheric intrusion.
Balloon profile indicated ozone near 200 ppb at 8 km, coupled with very dry and cold air conditions.
Airborne Science Upcoming/Recent Campaigns
• Earth Venture Suborbital-2 (EVS-2) • North Atlantic Aerosols and Marine Ecosystems Study (NAAMES) deployment to
Canada/Azores
• Oceans Melting Greenland (OMG) deployment to Iceland/Greenland
• Atmospheric Carbon and Transport – America (Act-America) deployment to Central US
• Atmospheric Tomography Mission (Atom) flew nearly pole-to-pole over Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans
• ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS (ORACLES) Namibia
deployment
• CORAL: COral Reef Airborne Laboratory deployments (HI, Palua, Mariana Island,
Australia Great Barrier Reef)
• AVIRIS-ng India deployment (Flights 2015-2016)
• HyspIRI Tropical (HI) deployment (Winter 2017)
• Korean air quality mission (KORUS – AQ) deployment (Spring 2016)
• NOAA operational evaluation of Global Hawk aircraft (SHOUT) mission
• Operation IceBridge (Arctic and Antarctic) (Fall/Spring)
• UAVSAR (L/P/Ka band radars) investigations (variety of programs including
earthquakes, levy monitoring, soil moisture, ice, etc.)
• California Airborne Methane Observations
• Student Airborne Research Program (June/July)
GEDI Lidar: Global Ecosystem Dynamics Investigation Lidar
PI: Ralph Dubayah
Mission:
GEDI will characterize the effects of changing climate and land
use on ecosystem structure and dynamics, enabling improved
understanding of Earth’s carbon cycle and biodiversity. GEDI will
provide the first global, high-resolution observations of forest
vertical structure.
Goals: GEDI will address the following questions:
•What is the above-ground carbon balance of the land surface?
•What role will land surface play in mitigating atmospheric CO2?
•How does ecosystem structure affect habitat quality and biodiversity?
GEDI measurements will quantify the following:
•Distribution of above-ground carbon at fine spatial resolution
•Changes in carbon resulting from disturbance and subsequent recovery
•Spatial and temporal distribution of forest structure and its relationship to
habitat quality and biodiversity
•Sequestration potential of forests over time w/changing land use, climate
Instrument: Lidar
Heritage: HOMER (laser); GLAS, CALIPSO (optics); IceSat,
(detectors)
Mission & Science Team: Principal Investigator: Ralph Dubayah, UMD
Project Manager: Kenneth Anderson, GSFC
Instrument System Engineer: Cheryl Salerno, GSFC
Deputy PI Instrument / Instrument Scientist: Bryan Blair, GSFC
Deputy PI Science: Scott Goetz, WHRC
Instrument Deputy Project Manager: Thomas Johnson, GSFC
Mission & Science Team: University of Maryland, College Park
Goddard Space Flight Center
Woods Hole Research Center
US Forest Service
Brown University
Instrument Details:
• Self-contained laser altimeter
• 3 lasers are split into 7 beams dithered to produce 14 ground track spot
beams.
• Beams have a 25 meter footprint and are spaced 500 m cross-track and
60 m along-track to produce fine grids of forest structure.
• 70 cm diameter telescope/receiver.
• Detector has 75% transmission and 50% quantum efficiency.
• Si:APD detectors: Near-photon-noise limited, >500:1 dynamic range
• IFOV matched to contain return spot beams
• GPS, IMU, Star Trackers give precise ranging, attitude and position.
• A single-axis mechanism rotates the instrument about the roll axis,
providing off-nadir pointing for global coverage.
• Canopy profile accurate to 1 m
• Geolocation < 10 m for plot calibration
• Biomass error < 20% at pixel level
FY16 Cost: ~$94 M
Threshold: Acquire canopy vertical profile to estimate above-ground
woody carbon density for vegetated areas at <1 km.
Mission type: Class C, ISS
Mass = 230 kg
PwrOrb Avg = 516 W
Data rateavg = 2.1 Mbps
ECOSTRESS: ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station
PI: Simon Hook
Mission:
ECOSTRESS will provide the first high spatiotemporal
resolution thermal infrared measurements of Earth’s surface
from ISS. Measurements at varying times over the diurnal
cycle will reveal answers related to water stress in plants and
how selected regions will respond to future climate changes.
Goals:
• Identify critical thresholds of water use and water stress in key climate-
sensitive biomes.
• Detect the timing, location, and predictive factors leading to plant water
uptake decline and/or cessation over the diurnal cycle
• Measure agricultural water consumptive use over the contiguous United
States (CONUS) at spatiotemporal scales applicable to improve drought
estimation accuracy
Instrument: Thermal infrared radiometer
Heritage: Prototype Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI)
Thermal Infrared Radiometer (PHyTIR; a laboratory
instrument); Algorithms: ASTER, MODIS, Landsat
Mission & Science Team:
Principal Investigator: Simon Hook, JPL
Project Manager: Thomas Glavich, JPL
Lead System Engineer: Marc Foote, JPL
Alternate Project Manager: Renaud Goullioud, JPL
Major Partners:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Instrument Details:
• Cross-track whisk broom scanner
• Swath width: 384 km (51°)
• Spatial resolution: 38 m x 57 m (nadir) pixels
• Five thermal IR bands between 8.3 and 12.1 microns
• Noise equivalent delta temperature: ≤ 0.1 K
• Two COTS cryocoolers for 60 K focal plane
• Typical revisit of 90% of CONUS every 4 days at varying
times over diurnal cycle
FY16 Cost: ~$30M
Threshold: Same as baseline.
Mission type: Class D, ISS
Mass = 266 kg
PwrOrb Avg = 527 W
Volume = 1.30 m3
Data Rateavg = 2.32 Mbps
TEMPO Science Overview
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• US air quality standards continue to become more stringent to better protect human health
• New and transient pollution sources (e.g., vehicular traffic, oil & gas development, trans-boundary pollution) are growing in importance yet are very difficult to monitor from ground networks
• Many areas that are not currently monitored are expected to violate proposed ozone standards
• TEMPO measurements will provide data to help solve this national challenge
US EPA ozone 8-hour design
projections to 2020
TEMPO science questions
1. What are the temporal and spatial variations of
emissions of gases and aerosols important for air
quality and climate?
2. How do physical, chemical, and dynamical
processes determine tropospheric composition and
air quality over scales ranging from urban to
continental, diurnally to seasonally?
3. How does air pollution drive climate forcing and how
does climate change affect air quality on a
continental scale?
4. How can observations from space improve air
quality forecasts and assessments?
5. How does intercontinental transport affect air
quality?
6. How do episodic events, such as wild fires, dust
outbreaks, and volcanic eruptions, affect
atmospheric composition and air quality?