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At least 325 records · Page 18

HIRIS - NASAS's High-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer for the Earth Observing System

Modern Earth science is beginning to examine interactions among the different terrestrial components at all temporal and spatial scales. Such a global perspective requires an integrated remote-sensing program, the Earth Observing System (EOS), which uses instruments throughout the electromagnetic spectrum to collect data about the Earth's surface, oceans and atmosphere over a range of selected scales. At the finest scales, we will require instruments capable of detailed sampling both spatially and spectrally. We have designed the High-Resoulution Imaging Spectrometer (HIRIS) to acquire simultaneous images in 192 spectral bands in the dominant wavelengths of the solar spectrum, 0.4 to 2.5 micrometers, at a spectral sampling interval of 10 nm. The ground instantaneous field of view (GIFOV) will be 30 m over a 24 km swath. A pointing capability will allow image acquisition up to +52 deg/-30 deg down track and +/-45 deg or more cross-track. Thus we will be able to study surface spectral bidirectional reflectance properties and variations in atmospheric attenuation with viewing angle. The cross-track pointing will also allow multiple viewing opportunities during one 16-day orbital revisit cycle, so that any part of the Earth may be imaged in a two-day period.

Dozier, J.↗

HIRIS - EOS instrument with high spectral and spatial resolution

The High-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (HIRIS) is designed for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS). It will have 10-nm wide spectral bands from 0.4-2.5 microns at 30 m spatial resolution over a 30 km swath. The spectral resolution allows identification of many minerals in rocks and soils, important algal pigments in oceans and inland waters, spectral changes associated with plant canopy biochemistry, composition of atmospheric aerosols, and grain size of snow and contamination by absorbing impurities. The bands will have 12-bit quantization over a dynamic range suitable for bright targets, such as snow. For targets of low brightness, such as water bodies, image-motion compensation will allow gains up to a factor of 8 to increase signal-to-noise ratios. The sensor will be able to point + or - 24 deg crosstrack and +60/-30 deg downtrack. In the 824-km orbit altitude proposed for EOS, the crosstrack pointing capability will allow 4-5 views during a 16-day revisit cycle.

Dozier, Jeff↗

Remote Sensing of Fires and Smoke from the Earth Observing System MODIS Instrument

The talk will include review of the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer) algorithms and performance e.g. the MODIS algorithm and the changes in the algorithm since launch. Comparison of MODIS and ASTER fire observations. Summary of the fall activity with the Forest Service in use of MODIS data for the fires in the North-West. Validation on the ground of the MODIS fire product.

Kaufman, Y. J.↗

Thermal Structure and Dynamics of Saturn's Northern Springtime Disturbance

This article combined several infrared datasets to study the vertical properties of Saturn's northern springtime storm. Spectroscopic observations of Saturn's northern hemisphere at 0.5 and 2.5 / cm spectral resolution were provided by the Cassini Composite Infrared Spectrometer (CIRS, 17). These were supplemented with narrow-band filtered imaging from the ESO Very Large Telescope VISIR instrument (16) to provide a global spatial context for the Cassini spectroscopy. Finally, nightside imaging from the Cassini Visual and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS, 22) provided a glimpse of the undulating cloud activity in the eastern branch of the disturbance. Each of these datasets, and the methods used to reduce and analyse them, will be described in detail below. Spatial maps of atmospheric temperatures, aerosol opacity and gaseous distributions are derived from infrared spectroscopy using a suite of radiative transfer and optimal estimation retrieval tools developed at the University of Oxford, known collectively as Nemesis (23). Synthetic spectra created from a reference atmospheric model for Saturn and appropriate sources of spectroscopic line data (6, 24) are convolved with the instrument function for each dataset. Atmospheric properties are then iteratively adjusted until the measurements are accurately reproduced with physically-realistic temperatures, compositions and cloud opacities.

Fletcher, Leigh N.↗

Design and Fabrication of a Two-Dimensional Superconducting Pop-up Bolometer Array

We have been developing an architecture for producing large format, two dimensional arrays of close-packed bolometers, which will enable submillimeter cameras and spectrometers to obtain images and spectra orders of magnitude faster than present instruments. The low backgrounds achieved in these instruments require very sensitive detectors with NEPs of order 5 x 10(exp -18) W/square root of Hz. Superconducting transition edge sensor bolometers can be close-packed using the Pop-up Detector (PUD) format, and SQUID multiplexers operating at the detector base temperature can be intimately coupled to them. The array unit cell is 8 x 32 pixels, using 32- element detector and multiplexer components. We have fabricated an engineering model array with this technology which features a very compact, modular approach for large format arrays. We report on the production of the 32-element components for the arrays. Planned instruments using this array architecture include the Submillimeter and Far-InfraRed Experiment (SAFIRE) on the SOFIA airborne observatory, the South Pole Imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (SPIFI) for the AST/RO observatory, the Millimeter Bolometer Camera for the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (MBC/ACT), and the Redshift (Z) Early Universe Spectrometer (ZEUS j.

Benford, Dominic J.↗

BIOME: An Ecosystem Remote Sensor Based on Imaging Interferometry

Until recent times, optical remote sensing of ecosystem properties from space has been limited to broad band multispectral scanners such as Landsat and AVHRR. While these sensor data can be used to derive important information about ecosystem parameters, they are very limited for measuring key biogeochemical cycling parameters such as the chemical content of plant canopies. Such parameters, for example the lignin and nitrogen contents, are potentially amenable to measurements by very high spectral resolution instruments using a spectroscopic approach. Airborne sensors based on grating imaging spectrometers gave the first promise of such potential but the recent decision not to deploy the space version has left the community without many alternatives. In the past few years, advancements in high performance deep well digital sensor arrays coupled with a patented design for a two-beam interferometer has produced an entirely new design for acquiring imaging spectroscopic data at the signal to noise levels necessary for quantitatively estimating chemical composition (1000:1 at 2 microns). This design has been assembled as a laboratory instrument and the principles demonstrated for acquiring remote scenes. An airborne instrument is in production and spaceborne sensors being proposed. The instrument is extremely promising because of its low cost, lower power requirements, very low weight, simplicity (no moving parts), and high performance. For these reasons, we have called it the first instrument optimized for ecosystem studies as part of a Biological Imaging and Observation Mission to Earth (BIOME).

Peterson, David L.↗

The NASA Geostationary Earth Observatory - A status report

The design concept of the NASA Geostationary Earth Observatory (GEO), which is the geostationary component of the NASA Mission to Planet Earth program, is discussed together with the science goals, the mission objectives, the platform concept, the data and information system, and the instrument complement of the GEO. The instruments proposed for GEO will include a geostationary microwave precipitation radiometer, a geostationary atmospheric profiler, a geostationary earth processes spectrometer, an advanced lightning mapper, a high-resolution earth processes imager, an operational instrument suite, a solar constant monitor and a spectrum monitor, a geostationary earth climate sensor, and a trace gas imager. Current technology and engineering studies indicate that GEO will be ready for launch by the year 2000.

Koczor, Ronald J.↗

An orbiting multispectral scanner for overland and oceanographic applications.

Description of the major features of a multispectral scanner designed to perform overland and oceanographic surveys from space. The instrument uses an image plane conical scanner and contains independent spectrometers for land and ocean applications. The overland spectrometer has a spatial resolution of 200 ft and has six spectral bands in the atmospheric windows between 0.5 and 2.4 microns. The oceanographic spectrometer has a spatial resolution of 1200 ft and possesses 24 spectral bands equally spaced and in registration over the wavelength range from 0.4 to 0.8 micron. A thermal band of 600-ft resolution is used with a spectral range from 10.5 to 12.6 microns. The swath width of the scan is 100 nautical miles from an altitude of 500 nautical miles. The system has two modes of operation which are selectable by ground command. The six bands of overland data plus the thermal band data can be transmitted, or the 24 bands of oceanographic data plus data from two of the overland bands and the thermal band can be transmitted. The performance is described by the minimum detectable reflectance difference and the effects of sun angle and target reflectivity variations are discussed. The sensitivity is related to the variation of the ocean reflectivity in the presence of chlorophyll and to typical agricultural targets.

Peacock, K.↗

An imaging spectrometric observatory

Measurement of the airglow spectrum from the extreme ultraviolet to the infrared using five identical imaging scanning spectrometers is planned. Functions and operation of the instrument are described.

Torr, M. R.↗

MLA imaging systems

The development of the enabling technology and instrument/mission definition phase for the application of advanced solid state sensors for future experimental remote sensing missions is discussed. The development of focal planes, instrument concept/design, mission studies, and service requirements and an imaging spectrometer technology and a Shuttle sortie mission definition are outlined.

Ando, K. J.↗

Galileo - Mission to Jupiter

The payloads, mission, and performance characteristics of the Galileo probe, to be launched by a Centaur boost from the Orbiter in 1985, are described. The Galileo is intended to determine the chemical compositions and physical states of the Jovian atmosphere and of the Jovian satellites, and to investigate the structure and dynamics of the Jovian magnetosphere. The orbiting part of the spacecraft will carry a near-IR mapping spectrometer, a photopolarimeter radiometer, a solid state imaging camera, a UV spectrometer, and five fields and particles instruments. A probe will be dropped for parachute descent into the Jovian atmosphere, carrying an atmospheric structure instrument, a neutral mass spectrometer, a He abundance interferometer, a nephelometer, and a radiometer. A retrorocket burn during the encounter with Jupiter will place the Galileo in an orbit calculated to pass close to all the Jovian moons over 12 orbits spanning 20 mos.

Yeates, C. M.↗

Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) science instrumentation

AXAF is to be equipped with a high performance X-ray telescope for the conduction of detailed astrophysics research. The observatory is to be serviced by the Space Station or the Shuttle, depending on capabilities during the AXAF operational period. The AXAF is to utilize the wavelength band from 1.2 A to 120 A. Attention is given to the AXAF science team, the AXAF observatory characteristics, the AXAF science instrument definition program, the Advanced Charge Coupled Device (CCD) Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS), the High Resolution Camera (HRC), the Bragg Crystal Spectrometer (BCS), the X-ray Spectrometer (XRS), the transmission gratings, and the program schedule.

Dailey, C. C.↗

Multichannel Fabry-Perot spectrometer for infrared astronomy

A multichannel design which makes use of the radiation normally rejected in a Fabry-Perot spectrometer is described, with application to infrared astronomy. The present optical design minimizes the diameters of the etalon and optics. The use of spherical mirrors ensures that no radiation is lost through the entrance aperture, and the beams can be completely collimated at the etalon. Laboratory studies demonstrate that the ability to employ eight channels increases by a factor of four the flux integrated during a given time period compared with that of a single-channel instrument. The spectrometer is nondispersive, and the source can be imaged at each of several output spectral positions.

Jennings, Donald E.↗

Evolution of the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) flight and ground data processing system

The modifications made to both the AVIRIS instrument and the data processing facility since the instrument made its initial flight in the summer of 1987 are described. Historical development of the data system is discussed and attention is given to enhancements to instrument stability and noise performance. AVIRIS data facility objectives include rapid and automated decommutation and archiving of data, the ability to assess the quality of the data and health of the instrument, and the provision of an automated procedure for applying radiometric corrections to the data and providing responsive processing of data requests from investigators. The modifications described have resulted in an overall radiometric stability of better than 10 percent, with stability of only a few percent during a single flight.

Porter, Wallace M.↗

Wildfire and MAMS data from STORMFEST

Early in 1992, NASA participated in an inter-agency field program called STORMFEST. The STORM-Fronts Experiment Systems Test (STORMFEST) was designed to test various systems critical to the success of STORM 1 in a very focused experiment. The field effort focused on winter storms in order to investigate the structure and evolution of fronts and associated mesoscale phenomena in the central United States. This document describes the data collected from two instruments onboard a NASA ER2 aircraft which was deployed out of Ellington Field in Houston, Texas from February 13 through March 15, 1992, in support of this experiment. The two instruments were the Wildfire (a.k.a. the moderate resolution imaging spectrometer-nadir (MODIS-N) Airborne Simulation (MAS)) and the Multispectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor (MAMS).

Jedlovec, Gary J.↗

NASA Participation in the ISAS MUSES C Asteroid Sample Return Mission

NASA and Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS) have agreed to cooperate on the first mission to collect samples from the surface of an asteroid and return them to Earth for in-depth study. The MUSES-C mission will be launched on a Japanese MV launch vehicle in January 2002 from Kagoshima Space Center, Japan, toward a touchdown on the asteroid Nereus in September 2003. A NASA-provided miniature rover will conduct in-situ measurements on the surface. The asteroid samples will be returned to Earth by MUSES-C via a parachute-borne recovery capsule in January 2006. NASA and ISAS will cooperate on several aspects of the mission, including mission support and scientific analysis. In addition to providing the rover, NASA will arrange for the testing of the MUSES-C re-entry heat shield at NASA/Ames Research Center, provide supplemental Deep Space Network tracking of the spacecraft, assist in navigating the spacecraft and provide arrangements for the recovery of the sample capsule at a landing site in the U. S. Scientific coinvestigators from the U.S. and Japan will share data from the instruments on the rover and the spacecraft. They will also collaborate on the investigations of the returned samples. With a mass of about I kg, the rover experiment will be a direct descendant of the technology used to build the Sojourner rover. The rover will carry three science instruments: a visible imaging camera, a near-infrared point spectrometer and an alpha X ray spectrometer. The solarpowered rover will move around the surface of Nereus collecting imagery data which are complimentary to the spacecraft investigation. The imaging system will be capable of making surface texture, composition, and morphology measurements at resolutions better than 1 cm. The rover will transmit this data to the spacecraft for relay back to Earth. Due to the microgravity environment on Nereus, the rover has been designed to right itself in case it flips over. Solar panels on all sides of the rover will ensure that enough power will always be available to the rover to activate the motors needed to turn over. Posable struts will allow the rover to position its chassis such that the camera can be pointed straight down at the surface or straight up at the sky. The presentation will describe the mission, scientific objectives and current state of the rover in detail.

Jones, Ross↗

The Hinode(Solar-B)Mission: An Overview

The Hinode satellite (formerly Solar-B) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS/JAXA) was successfully launched in September 2006. As the successor to the Yohkoh mission, it aims to understand how magnetic energy is transferred from the photosphere to the upper atmospheres and resulting in explosive energy releases. Hinode is an observatory style mission, with all the instruments being designed and built to work together to address the science aims. There are three instruments onboard: the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT), the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS), and the X-ray Telescope (XRT). This paper overviews the mission, including the satellite, the scientific payload and operations. It will conclude with discussions on how the international science community can participate in the analysis of the mission data.

Kosugi, T.↗

Mauna Kea, Hawaii as an Analogue Site for Future Planetary Resource Exploration: Results from the 2010 ILSO-ISRU Field-Testing Campaign

Within the framework of the International Lunar Surface Operation - In-Situ Resource Utilization Analogue Test held on January 27 - February 11, 2010 on the Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii, a number of scientific instrument teams collaborated to characterize the field site and test instrument capabilities outside laboratory environments. In this paper, we provide a geological setting for this new field-test site, a description of the instruments that were tested during the 2010 ILSO-ISRU field campaign, and a short discussion for each instrument about the validity and use of the results obtained during the test. These results will form a catalogue that may serve as reference for future test campaigns. In this paper we provide a description and regional geological setting for a new field analogue test site for lunar resource exploration, and discuss results obtained from the 2010 ILSO-ISRU field campaign as a reference for future field-testing at this site. The following instruments were tested: a multispectral microscopic imager, MMI, a Mossbauer spectrometer, an evolved gas analyzer, VAPoR, and an oxygen and volatile extractor called RESOLVE. Preliminary results show that the sediments change from dry, organic-poor, poorly-sorted volcaniclastic sand on the surface, containing basalt, iron oxides and clays, to more water- and organic-rich, fine grained, well-sorted volcaniclastic sand, primarily consisting of iron oxides and depleted of basalt and clays. Furthermore, drilling experiments showed a very close correlation between drilling on the Moon and drilling at the test site. The ILSO-ISRU test site was an ideal location for testing strategies for in situ resource exploration at the lunar or martian surface.

ten Kate, I. L.↗