NASA’s Earth Venture class (EV) of mission are competitively selected, Principal Investigator (PI) led, relatively low cost and narrowly focused in scientific scope. Investigations address a full spectrum of earth science objectives, including studies of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, polar ice regions, and solid Earth. EV has three program elements: EV-Suborbital (EVS) are suborbital/airborne investigations; EVMission (EVM) element comprises small complete spaceborne missions; and EV-Instrument (EVI) element develops spaceborne instruments for flight as missions-of-opportunity (MoO). To ensure the success of EV, the management approach of each element is tailored according to the specific needs of the element.
Tropospheric chemistry is considered to be the next frontier of atmospheric chemistry, and understanding and predicting the global influence of natural and human-induced effects on tropospheric chemistry will be the next challenge for atmospheric research over the foreseeable future. A geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) vantage point provides an ideal location for measuring spatially and temporally resolved distributions of trace gas species. One powerful technique for making this measurement is LIght Detection And Ranging (lidar) using solid-state lasers. Presently, NASA has a notional plan for using lidars for tropospheric chemistry measurements, but from low Earth orbit (LEO). While permitting high spatially resolved measurements, LEO measurements, however, lack the temporal resolution required to monitor important atmospheric processes and transport. A GEO instrument will require a more energetic and efficient lidar system in order to permit accurate measurements. In this study, we investigated the capability of a lidar for tropospheric profiling of chemical species and we develop a roadmap for the requisite technologies.
The findings of an independent panel commissioned by NASA’s Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) to assess the current missions utilizing advanced solid-state lasers and the programmatic actions by the Enterprise to define how NASA Centers will cooperate on future lidar competitive opportunities together formulate a strategy for technology development of advanced solid-state laser systems.
In this paper we will describe a program created to address risks in the development of laser transmitter technologies. This program grew out of concern that there are no lasers as active sources for space-based remote sensing that have been space qualified for long-term science measurements. Presently, the risks inherent in developing these technologies have been born by programs funded to produce scientific results. The intention of this program is to mitigate risks in certain technical areas so that other technology programs can further the maturation of the instruments prior to infusion into a science program. The program will invest in several critical areas:
• Advancing transmitter technologies to enable science measurements (tropospheric ozone, water vapor, winds, altimetry)
• Development and qualification of space-based laser diode arrays
• Advancing nonlinear wavelength conversion technology for space-based lidars
Future remote sensing instruments for the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) will depend heavily upon lidars as active sources. Applications will include measurement of the chemical composition of the atmosphere, including global atmospheric CO2, tropospheric wind velocity and surface altimetry. In many cases, the technology requirements for these measurements exceed the state of the art in commercially available laser systems. Consequently, considerable research will be necessary in laser technologies in order to enable the future measurement needs of the ESE. In this paper we will describe the strategy that NASA's ESE will use to develop the necessary laser and supporting technologies. We will illustrate roadmaps of the various measurement needs detailing specific technology investments. In particular we will review the findings from workshops recently conducted by NASA to determine the technology drivers for these measurements. The Earth Science Technology Office is responsible for developing advanced technologies for the ESE, as such, this information is presented in order to communicate the relevancy of, and the need for investments in these technologies to the broadest technical audience.
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