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NASA NTRS2023

Southern Idaho Ecological Conservation: Investigating the Impact of Targeted Grazing to Improve Wetland Habitat in the Sterling Wildlife Management Area

Wetland ecosystems are vital for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services. The Sterling Wildlife Management Area in Bingham County, Idaho, has management concerns about decadent and accumulated vegetation growth encroaching on wetland habitat, which presents challenges for wildlife, decreases biodiversity, and limits public access. Targeted grazing has been proposed as a sustainable alternative to chemical herbicides or burning. Land managers introduced targeted cattle grazing in January 2021 to reduce biomass. NASA DEVELOP partnered with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to determine the impact of grazing using NASA Earth observations from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) in Google Earth Engine (GEE). Images were processed with TerrSet’s Land Change Modeler and ArcGIS Pro’s Change Detection Wizard to understand land changes following grazing. A Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) analysis was performed to assess impacts on vegetation productivity and compare variance in biomass before and after grazing. A Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) was used to compare changes in the wetland and its vegetation content to evaluate the suitability of the area for migratory birds post-grazing. Results showed a decrease in the vegetation index and an increase in the water index postgrazing. The DEVELOP team’s analysis suggests that grazing helps break down thick, senesced vegetation and increase soil moisture. Providing a workflow model will aid partners in continuing to monitor this management area and other management areas across the state.

change detection↗

NASA NTRS1999

[X-33 Launch and Landing Facilities]

Sverdrup is responsible for the design, construction and activation of the X-33 Flight Operations Center at Edwards Air Force Base and for providing assistance in activating the X-33 Landing Sites. The past year has seen the completion of the construction of the X-33 Flight Operations Center. Construction was completed in December of 1998, with systems checkout and testing continuing into early 1999. Integration of the site with LMCMS and other partner-supplied systems began in December and will continue through rollout of the X-33 vehicle. The construction of the X-33 Launch Complex has been performed within the Edwards AFB and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) systems with no substantial interference to either parties. A high level of cooperation exists between Sverdrup, Edwards AFB, and the Air Force Research Laboratory in the areas of access, training, security, and operations. There have been no conflicts between programs that have not been accommodated. Development of the landing sites is progressing with many of the modifications necessary underway. GSE commitments are in place. The personnel training program developed by Sverdrup for persons entering the launch site construction areas, was modified by Lockheed for use in training and access control to the Center during flight operations to maximize safety and minimize intrusion upon the environment. Close cooperation between Sverdrup, the construction workers, and the environmental biologist permitted construction to proceed in a timely fashion without harm to the wildlife, in particular, the Desert Tortoise. Although the entire X-33 site encompasses approximately 50 acres including a new access road, only the areas directly impacted by the construction were cleared to minimize the impact on the environment. A total of about 30 acres was actually disturbed.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2016

Interactive Computing and Processing of NASA Land Surface Observations Using Google Earth Engine

Google's Earth Engine offers a "big data" approach to processing large volumes of NASA and other remote sensing products. h\ps://earthengine.google.com/ Interfaces include a Javascript or Python-based API, useful for accessing and processing over large periods of record for Landsat and MODIS observations. Other data sets are frequently added, including weather and climate model data sets, etc. Demonstrations here focus on exploratory efforts to perform land surface change detection related to severe weather, and other disaster events.

earth engine↗

NASA NTRS1993

Internetworking satellite and local exchange networks for personal communications applications

The demand for personal communications services has shown unprecedented growth, and the next decade and beyond promise an era in which the needs for ubiquitous, transparent and personalized access to information will continue to expand in both scale and scope. The exchange of personalized information is growing from two-way voice to include data communications, electronic messaging and information services, image transfer, video, and interactive multimedia. The emergence of new land-based and satellite-based wireless networks illustrates the expanding scale and trend toward globalization and the need to establish new local exchange and exchange access services to meet the communications needs of people on the move. An important issue is to identify the roles that satellite networking can play in meeting these new communications needs. The unique capabilities of satellites, in providing coverage to large geographic areas, reaching widely dispersed users, for position location determination, and in offering broadcast and multicast services, can complement and extend the capabilities of terrestrial networks. As an initial step in exploring the opportunities afforded by the merger of satellite-based and land-based networks, several experiments utilizing the NASA ACTS satellite and the public switched local exchange network were undertaken to demonstrate the use of satellites in the delivery of personal communications services.

Wolff, Richard S.↗

NASA NTRS2018

Influence of Precipitation Forcing Uncertainty on Hydrological Simulations with the NASA South Asia Land Data Assimilation System

Accurate meteorological estimates are critical for process-based hydrological simulationand prediction. This presents a significant challenge in mountainous Asia where in situmeteorological stations are limited and major river basins cross international borders. In thiscontext, remotely sensed and model-derived meteorological estimates are often necessary inputsfor distributed hydrological analysis. However, these datasets are difficult to evaluate on accountof limited access to ground data. In this case, the implications of uncertainty associated withprecipitation forcing for hydrological simulations is explored by driving the South Asia Land DataAssimilation System (South Asia LDAS) using a range of meteorological forcing products.MERRA2, GDAS, and CHIRPS produce a wide range of estimates for rainfall, which causes awidespread simulated streamflow and evapotranspiration. A combination of satellite-derived andlimited in situ data are applied to evaluate model simulations and, by extension, to constrain theestimates of precipitation. The results show that available gridded precipitation estimates based onin situ data may systematically underestimate precipitation in mountainous regions and thatperformance of gridded satellite-derived or modeled precipitation estimates varies systematicallyacross the region. Since no station-based data or product including station data is satisfactoryeverywhere, our results suggest that the evaluation of the hydrological simulation of streamflowand ET can be used as an indirect evaluation of precipitation forcing based on ground-basedproducts or in-situ data. South Asia LDAS produces reasonable evapotranspiration and streamflowwhen forced with appropriate meteorological forcing and the choice of meteorological forcingshould be made based on the geographical location as well as on the purpose of the simulations.

South Asia land data assimilation system (South As↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) Mission Overview and Science Return

The Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) mission was the culmination of two decades of research and development led by NASA Langley Research Center for Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) technology. A HIAD aeroshell can be hard packed into a small volume for launch and then deployed prior to atmospheric entry for stable aerodynamic deceleration through the atmosphere. Much larger than traditional fixed diameter aeroshells that are constrained by the size of launch vehicle shrouds, inflatable decelerators create more drag and start the deceleration process in the upper reaches of the atmosphere with greater efficiency and stability. Large deployable heatshields enable spacecraft to carry bigger, heavier payloads, including scientific instruments and human support systems for planetary landing and exploration. The success of the LOFTID mission could enable new NASA missions to Mars (including access to higher altitudes than currently possible), Venus, and most solar system destinations with atmospheres, as well as cost-effective payload returns to Earth. With its unique 6m diameter inflatable heatshield, LOFTID was the first-of-a-kind orbital reentry flight, and the largest blunt body atmospheric entry of any kind. On November 10, 2022, the LOFTID aeroshell endured the harsh environments of atmospheric reentry while exhibiting stable aerodynamics through the entire spectrum of hypersonic, supersonic, transonic, and subsonic flight. The demonstration confirmed the HIAD technology structural and thermal performance as the aeroshell protected the 1100 kg Reentry Vehicle (RV) entering Earth’s atmosphere at 8 km/s, reaching Mach 30, and experiencing 9.5 g deceleration before deploying parachutes and gently splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, where it was recovered in excellent condition. The LOFTID aeroshell was exposed to an aeroheating environment representative of many Mars and LEO HIAD applications, and successfully demonstrated the ability of the heat-affected inflatable structure to withstand aerodynamic forces that exceeded those expected at Mars. This mission further demonstrated the viability of HIAD technology to deliver large payloads safely and accurately through an atmosphere via a controlled entry, descent, and landing. Whereas LOFTID was indeed a first-of-a-kind flight for an inflatable heatshield, its remarkable performance assured that it will not be the last of its kind.

J M Dinonno↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) Mission Overview and Science Return

John M DiNonno↗

NASA NTRS1983

Payload/cargo processing at the launch site

Payload processing at Kennedy Space Center is described, with emphasis on payload contamination control. Support requirements are established after documentation of the payload. The processing facilities feature enclosed, environmentally controlled conditions, with account taken of the weather conditions, door openings, accessing the payload, industrial activities, and energy conservation. Apparatus are also available for purges after Orbiter landing. The payloads are divided into horizontal, vertical, mixed, and life sciences and Getaway Special categories, which determines the processing route through the facilities. A canister/transport system features sealed containers for moving payloads from one facility building to another. All payloads are exposed to complete Orbiter bay interface checkouts in a simulator before actually being mounted in the bay.

Ragusa, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Lunar Habitat Would Be Assembled In Space

Conceptual lunar habitat built inside external tank from National Space Transportation System (NSTS). Tank modified in low Earth orbit using existing structures and openings for access without compromising structural integrity. Designed for unmanned transport to orbit around Moon, and autonomous soft landing. Houses crew of 12 for 70 days between resupply missions.

King, Charles B.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Applications of a hand-held GPS receiver in South American rain forests

A hand-held Global Positioning System receiver was used to determine the precise locations of villages, houses, gardens, and other cultural and environmental features in poorly mapped South American rain forests. The Magellan NAV 1000 unit profides extremely accurate latitude and longitude information, but determination of altitude is problematical. Overall, the receiver effectively allows anthropologists to obtain essential locational data useful for categorizing land uses, mapping tribal boundaries, and other applications in regions where environmental conditions are harsh and/or accessibility is difficult.

Baksh, Michael↗

NASA NTRS2001

Exploration of Titan using Vertical Lift Aerial Vehicles

Autonomous vertical lift aerial vehicles (such as rotorcraft or powered-lift vehicles) hold considerable potential for supporting planetary science and exploration missions. Vertical lift aerial vehicles would have the following advantages/attributes for planetary exploration: low-speed and low-altitude detailed aerial surveys; remote-site sample return to lander platforms; precision placement of scientific probes; soft landing capability for vehicle reuse (multiple flights) and remote-site monitoring; greater range, speed, and access to hazardous terrain than a surface rover; greater resolution of surface details than an orbiter or balloons. Exploration of Titan presents an excellent opportunity for the development and usage of such vehicles.

Young, L. A.↗

NASA NTRS2013

Footprints on Mars

The first three human missions to Mars should be to three different geographic sites. Maximize mobility to extend the reach of human exploration beyond the landing site. Maximize the amount of time that the astronauts spend exploring the planet. Provide subsurface access. Return a minimum of 250 kg of samples to Earth.

Drake, Bret G.↗

NASA NTRS2019

NASA's Earth Observing Data and Information System (EOSDIS)

NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) has been a central component of the NASA Earth observation program since the 1990's. The data collected by NASA represent a significant public investment in research. Consequently, NASA developed a free, open and non-discriminatory policy consistent with existing international policies to maximize access to data. EOSDIS manages data covering a wide range of Earth science disciplines including cryosphere, land cover change, polar processes, field campaigns, ocean surface, geodesy, atmosphere dynamics and composition, and inter-disciplinary research, and many others.

Remote Sensing↗

NASA NTRS2019

NASA's Earth Observing Data and Information System (EOSDIS)

Data Systems↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Assessing the Needs of NASA's Near Real-Time Earth Observation Products

"The 2017-2027 Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space stated that NASA's Earth Science with planned implementation of applications provides sustained earth observations for societal benefits [1]. The Decadal Survey indicated that data latency is invaluable for time-sensitive applications including disaster risk reduction, wildland fire carbon emissions quantification, real-time measurements of the state of the hydrologic systems and many more. Data latency refers to the time between earth observation and data products available to users. During the past 13 years, NASA's Land, Atmosphere Near Real-Time Capability for Earth Observing Systems (LANCE) continues to provide free access to earth observation products that are made available much quicker than routine processing allows. The latency of most LANCE data products is Near Real-time (NRT) which is defined as less than three hours from satellite observations [2]. LANCE is managed by the Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center [3], and a User Working Group (UWG) is responsible for providing guidance to LANCE. LANCE data are used by direct users and brokers who add value to the data [4]. NASA Earth Applied Sciences Program (ASP) is one of the primary users of LANCE, which collaborates with partner organizations and provides support to scientists to solve problems in applications of earth observations. ASP promotes the use of LANCE NRT data products to demonstrate applications in decision making, facilitates end-user feedback to the science team to improve data products, and provides information on future demands for research. LANCE supports applications that need a rapid response including detecting wildland fires and volcanic eruptions, tracking smoke, ash and dust plumes, monitoring air quality and tracking extreme weather events such as hurricanes, landslides, and floods. To gather feedback regarding the availability, accessibility and actionability of NASA's NRT data products for societal benefit, three surveys and a few discussions with experts involved in the topic within ASP were conducted from the perspective of users. Feedback has been collected from users who are interested in using low latency NASA data within application communities of agriculture, disasters, water resources, health and air quality, ecological conservation, wildland fires and capacity building. Analysis-ready NRT data products in a variety of formats have been mentioned many times in the collected feedback, especially for applied users with little to no experience using research-grade earth observation products. Users prefer to have products that can be easily integrated into their existing workflows and take their analysis to the data. HDF5 is a commonly used data format for research, but typically requires some conversion to a more friendly format for applications and regular use in decision-making. Users prefer the GeoTIFF data format that can be directly ingested into a GIS mapping software and platform for data analysis and visualization. For example, LANCE’s fire, flood, SO2 and Black Marble Nighttime Blue/Yellow Composite data products have been integrated into NASA Disasters Mapping Portal, which is an GIS-based open data portal, for users in the disaster management community. There are 291 LANCE NRT layers available through GIBS and Worldview, where users can download a snapshot in GeoTIFF format. Operational users expect data to be processed as close to the user as possible. The collected feedback indicates that LANCE fire products within 3 hours latency would meet the needs of the wildland fire community. The ideal latency for volcanic application is 10-15 minutes. Users in Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (VAAC) reported that the first forecast volcanic product should be issued within 75 minutes from the volcano eruption [5]. Overall, for disaster applications, data latency within 3 hours is useful while latency greater than 12 hours is not timely enough for operational use. Capacity building and training are critical for users to be able to access, interpret and use data products and tools for their decision making, especially for applied users with limited experience using earth observation products. LANCE data products have been used in a number of capacity building projects domestically and internationally [6]. As LANCE continues to bring new products into the system, users request training to utilize LANCE new and upcoming data products and capabilities in their applications. Due to the limitation of bandwidth and downstream flow paths, users in some developing countries need tools to select and download data for a specific area of interest instead of bulk downloads. The collected feedback also shows the lack of available SAR satellite low latency data products. The advantages of SAR to monitor conditions and changes on the ground through darkness, clouds, volcanic ash, and other atmospheric conditions, are appealing to low latency users. For example, terabytes of low latency but cloudy optical images are not helpful in rapidly identifying the extent of flood or fire impacts. LANCE could be complemented with low latency measurements via the upcoming NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission [7]. Requests for higher spatial resolution products are expressed. A user from the wildland fire management community reported that products with 30-m spatial resolution could be used to detect small fires. The 30-m Landsat OLI fire data is now part of NASA’s Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) US/Canada [8]. Within the open and free NASA resources, LANCE disseminates NRT data products in a manner that allows them to be accessible and understandable to both scientific and applied users. In many application areas, latency plays an important or even decisive role where low latency earth observations help people to observe areas of interest, detect and track changes in the environment and make timely decisions. NASA’s Earth Applied Sciences Program promotes the use of LANCE NRT products and builds a bridge between application users and research teams. The collected feedback indicates data latency within 3 hours is useful for most of the applications, and shows the needs of user-friendly, analysis-ready products, and requests training on LANCE’s new and upcoming data products. User feedback has been provided to LANCE UWG for guidance and recommendations, and for translating findings into something actionable.

Tian Yao↗

NASA NTRS2018

Enhancements to the Open Access Spectral Band Adjustment Factor Online Calculation Tool for Visible Channels

With close to 40 years of satellite observations, from which, cloud, land-use, and aerosol parameters can be measured, inter-consistent calibrations are needed to normalize retrievals across satellite records. Various visible-sensor inter-calibration techniques have been developed that utilize radiometrically stable Earth targets, e.g., deep convective clouds and desert/polar ice pseudo-invariant calibration sites. Other equally effective, direct techniques for intercalibration between satellite imagers are simultaneous nadir overpass comparisons and ray-matched radiance pairs. Combining independent calibration results from such varied techniques yields robust calibration coefficients, and is a form of self-validation. One potential source of significant error when cross-calibrating satellite sensors, however, are the often small but substantial spectral discrepancies between comparable bands, which must be accounted for. As such, visible calibration methods rely on a Spectral Band Adjustment Factor (SBAF) to account for the spectral-response function- induced radiance differences between analogous imagers. The SBAF is unique to each calibration method as it is a function of the Earth-reflected spectra. In recent years, NASA Langley pioneered the use of SCIAMACHY-, GOME-2-, and Hyperion-retrieved Earth spectra to compute SBAFs. By carefully selecting hyperspectral footprints that best represent the conditions inherent to an inter-calibration technique, the uncertainty in the SBAF is greatly reduced. NASA Langley initially provided the Global Space-based Inter-calibration System processing and research centers with online SBAF tools, with which users select conditions to best match their calibration criteria. This article highlights expanded SBAF tool capabilities for visible wavelengths, with emphasis on the use of the spectral range filtering for the purpose of separating scene conditions for the channel that the SBAF is needed based on the reflectance values of other bands. In other words, spectral filtering will enable better scene-type selection for bands where scene determination is difficult without information from other channels, which should prove valuable to users in the calibration community.

Scarino, Benjamin↗

NASA NTRS2016

The Matsu Wheel: A Cloud-Based Framework for Efficient Analysis and Reanalysis of Earth Satellite Imagery

Project Matsu is a collaboration between the Open Commons Consortium and NASA focused on developing open source technology for cloud-based processing of Earth satellite imagery with practical applications to aid in natural disaster detection and relief. Project Matsu has developed an open source cloud-based infrastructure to process, analyze, and reanalyze large collections of hyperspectral satellite image data using OpenStack, Hadoop, MapReduce and related technologies. We describe a framework for efficient analysis of large amounts of data called the Matsu "Wheel." The Matsu Wheel is currently used to process incoming hyperspectral satellite data produced daily by NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite. The framework allows batches of analytics, scanning for new data, to be applied to data as it flows in. In the Matsu Wheel, the data only need to be accessed and preprocessed once, regardless of the number or types of analytics, which can easily be slotted into the existing framework. The Matsu Wheel system provides a significantly more efficient use of computational resources over alternative methods when the data are large, have high-volume throughput, may require heavy preprocessing, and are typically used for many types of analysis. We also describe our preliminary Wheel analytics, including an anomaly detector for rare spectral signatures or thermal anomalies in hyperspectral data and a land cover classifier that can be used for water and flood detection. Each of these analytics can generate visual reports accessible via the web for the public and interested decision makers. The result products of the analytics are also made accessible through an Open Geospatial Compliant (OGC)-compliant Web Map Service (WMS) for further distribution. The Matsu Wheel allows many shared data services to be performed together to efficiently use resources for processing hyperspectral satellite image data and other, e.g., large environmental datasets that may be analyzed for many purposes.

0↗

NASA NTRS2013

Visualization and Analysis of Multi-scale Land Surface Products via Giovanni Portals

Large volumes of MODIS land data products at multiple spatial resolutions have been integrated into the Giovanni online analysis system to support studies on land cover and land use changes,focused on the Northern Eurasia and Monsoon Asia regions through the LCLUC program. Giovanni (Goddard Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure) is a Web-based application developed by the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC), providing a simple and intuitive way to visualize, analyze, and access Earth science remotely-sensed and modeled data.Customized Giovanni Web portals (Giovanni-NEESPI andGiovanni-MAIRS) have been created to integrate land, atmospheric,cryospheric, and societal products, enabling researchers to do quick exploration and basic analyses of land surface changes, and their relationships to climate, at global and regional scales. This presentation shows a sample Giovanni portal page, lists selected data products in the system, and illustrates potential analyses with imagesand time-series at global and regional scales, focusing on climatology and anomaly analysis. More information is available at the GES DISCMAIRS data support project portal: http:disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.govmairs.

Shen, Suhung↗