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A flight-worthy high speed color video system has been developed. Extensive system development and ground and environmental. testing hes yielded a flight qualified High Speed Video System (HSVS), This HSVS was initially used on the F-15B #836 for the Lifting Insulating Foam Trajectory (LIFT) project.
In 2007, the National Research Council (NRC) completed its first decadal survey for Earth science at the request of NASA, NOAA, and USGS. The Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) mission is one of fifteen missions recommended by NRC, whose primary objectives are to map global topography and vegetation structure at 5 m spatial resolution, and to acquire global coverage with a few years. NASA Goddard conducted an initial mission concept study for the LIST mission 2007, and developed the initial measurement requirements for the mission.
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Airborne instruments and ground-based facilities for flight and data monitoring of high speed and high altitude X-15
Coincidental airborne brightness temperature (TB) and normalized radar-cross section (NRCS) measurements were carried out with the PALS (Passive and Active L- and S-band) instrument in the SMAPVEX08 (SMAP Validation Experiment 2008) field campaign. This paper describes results obtained from a set of flights which measured a field in 45(sup o) steps over the azimuth angle. The field contained mature soy beans with distinct row structure. The measurement shows that both TB and NRCS experience modulation effects over the azimuth as expected based on the theory. The result is useful in development and validation of land surface parameter forward models and retrieval algorithms, such as the soil moisture algorithm for NASA's SMAP (Soil Moisture Active and Passive) mission. Although the footprint of the SMAP will not be sensitive to the small resolution scale effects as the one presented in this paper, it is nevertheless important to understand the effects at smaller scale.
Tunable infrared laser-based instruments on airborne platforms have provided invaluable contributions to atmospheric studies over the past several decades. This paper presents an overview of some recent studies and developments using this approach that were presented at the 2007 Field Laser Applications in Industry and Research (FLAIR, http://www.inoa.it/flair/) conference in Florence, Italy. The present overview only covers select in situ absorption-based instruments that were presented in the airborne session at this conference. In no case are comprehensive details presented. These details can be found in the numerous references given. Additional approaches based upon cavity-enhanced and photoacoustic measurements, which are also making invaluable contributions in airborne atmospheric studies, are not discussed in this brief overview.
Under suitable laboratory conditions, it has been demonstrated that the laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) measurement technique is sensitive enough to detect single atoms and molecules. This potential sensitivity has provided motivation for the development of this technique for ambient OH measurements. The present paper is concerned with an airborne lidar instrument for measuring OH concentration as used for the NASA GTE/CITE (Global Tropospheric Experiment/Chemical Instrumentation Test and Evaluation) intercomparison experiments during the fall of 1983 and the spring of 1984. A description is given of a working airborne instrument for measurements of OH in ambient air. The detection sensitivity demonstrated in the experiments should be sufficient for routine measurements in areas in which the OH concentration is in the range of high 1,000,000 molecule per cu cm or higher.
NASA's SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) calibration and validation program revealed that the soil moisture products are experiencing difficulties in meeting the mission requirements in certain agricultural areas. Therefore, the mission organized airborne field experiments at two core validation sites to investigate these anomalies. The SMAP Validation Experiment 2016 included airborne observations with the PALS (Passive Active L-band Sensor) instrument and intensive ground sampling. The goal of the PALS measurements are to investigate the soil moisture retrieval algorithm formulation and parameterization under the varying (spatially and temporally) conditions of the agricultural domains and to obtain high resolution soil moisture maps within the SMAP pixels. In this paper the soil moisture retrieval using the PALS brightness temperature observations in SMAPVEX16 is presented.
Computer program developed to help read and analyze data gathered by airborne instruments for atmospheric research. By employing remote-sensing techniques, measurements of wind and wind stress obtained from airborne instruments in various locations and weather conditions. Written in FORTRAN 77.
The miniaturized scanning electrical mobility sizer (mSEMS), as shown in Figure 1, represents an advancement in particle size measurement technology. Designed for portability, this compact instrument is engineered to deliver precise and accurate assessments of particle size distributions. The mSEMS uses scanning electrical mobility sizing technology to analyze aerosol particles within a specified size range. Its miniaturized design does not compromise on performance, making it ideal for a myriad of applications across laboratory research, environmental monitoring, and industrial settings. The user friendly interface simplifies operation, while the instrument's robust construction ensures reliability in various conditions. Researchers and professionals can rely on the mSEMS to provide invaluable insights into aerosol dynamics, contributing to advancements in aerosol science.
The University of Chicago far-infrared array polarimeter, 'STOKES', is the first multiple-beam polarimeter for far-infrared astronomy. Observations are made from the NASA Kuiper Airborne Observatory. Two orthogonal components of linear polarization are detected simultaneously by corresponding pairs of bolometers in two 32-detector arrays. Novel observing and data-analysis techniques are used to overcome the inherent difficulties of array polarimetry. Results from the first observing flights with the new instrument are reported for the molecular clouds W3 and W51. The measurements show that the magnetic-field structure in both clouds is nonuniform on the scale of 0.5-1.5 pc. This is consistent with molecular line and Zeeman observations that indicate the presence of turbulent velocities and significant small-scale structure. Preliminary results from the second flight series have yielded approximately 40 new measurements in the Sgr A complex. These results indicate that modifications made since the first flights have significantly improved the performance of STOKES.
Airborne instrumentation system on Aerobee 350 sounding rocket
The paper reviews potential applications of functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), a well-known medical diagnostic technique, to monitoring the cognitive state of pilots with a focus on identifying ways to adopt this technique to airborne environments. We also discuss various fNIRS techniques and the direction of technology maturation of associated hardware in view of their potential for miniaturization, maximization of data collection capabilities, and user friendliness.
The paper reviews potential applications of functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), a well-known medical diagnostic technique, to monitoring the cognitive state of pilots with a focus on identifying ways to adopt this technique to airborne environments. We also discuss various fNIRS techniques and the direction of technology maturation of associated hardware in view of their potential for miniaturization, maximization of data collection capabilities, and user friendliness.
This paper highlights a new technique that allows the Teledyne Scientific & Imaging LLC TCM6604A Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) Focal Plane Array (FPA) to operate at room temperature. The Teledyne MCT FPA has been a standard in Imaging Spectroscopy since its creation in the 1980's. This FPA has been used in applications ranging from space instruments such as CRISM, M3 and ARTEMIS to airborne instruments such as MaRS and the Next Generation AVIRIS Instruments1. Precise focal plane alignment is always a challenge for such instruments. The current FPA alignment process results in multiple cold cycles requiring week-long durations, thereby increasing the risk and cost of a project. These alignment cycles are necessary because optimal alignment is approached incrementally and can only be measured with the FPA and Optics at standard operating conditions, requiring a cold instrument. Instruments using this FPA are normally cooled to temperatures below 150K for the MCT FPA to properly function. When the FPA is run at higher temperatures the dark current increases saturating the output. This paper covers the prospect of warm MCT FPA operation from a theoretical and experimental perspective. We discuss the empirical models and physical laws that govern MCT material properties and predict the optimal settings that will result in the best MCT PA performance at 300K. Theoretical results are then calculated for the proposed settings. We finally present the images and data obtained using the actual system with the warm MCT FPA settings. The paper concludes by emphasizing the strong positive correlation between the measured values and the theoretical results.
Test equipment development for organic aerosol and terpene determinations through atmospheric sampling
One problem encountered in the use of air-quality instrumentation on aircraft is the variation of instrument sensitivity with pressure as the result of altitude changes of the aircraft. Many instruments experience sensitivity changes of as much as a factor of 2 at altitudes of 6 km. Discussed are recent modifications to a chemiluminescent (ethylene) ozone detector that allow the instrument to automatically compensate for pressure/sensitivity effects. The modification provides automated mass flow rate control for both the sample and ethylene gas flows. The flow control systems maintain flow rate to within 15 percent for a 100-torr instantaneous pressure change, and flow rates are returned to the desired set points within 10 s after the pressure change. During simulated altitude changes (300 m/min from mean sea level to 3-km altitude), flow rates were controlled to within 3 percent of the set point. Laboratory data are summarized verifying the operation of the instrument for a pressure range of 760 torr (sea level) to 350 torr (approximately 20,000 ft) and an ozone concentration range from 20 to approximately 700 ppb.
The NASA Satellite Instrumentation Calibrator (NASIC) is a visible and near-infrared spectrometer used to calibrate various satellite instruments by underflying those instruments in a NASA ER-2 aircraft. The calibration instrument's hardware and software are documented. The design, operation, and function of an Ebert-Fastie monochronomator, which by means of a moveable diffraction grating, becomes a visible and near-infrared spectrometer used to calibrate satellite-borne instruments by high altitude underflights in the NASA ER-2.