NASA Earth Science UAS Mission Requirements Don Sullivan NASA Ames Research Center

Suborbital Science Program Objectives Development of new space sensors and new remote-sensing techniques. Satellite calibration/validation. Targeted observations of ephemeral phenomena with variable temporal and spatial scales. Atmosphere/near-space in-situ observations. Improvement and validation of predictive Earth process models using satellite data. Next-generation scientists with hands- on sensor hardware and field experiment experience. Add to the understanding and prediction of the Earth system. Suborbital observations fill time and space gap between surface observing networks and orbital platforms. Sounding Rocket Program Balloon Program Aircraft & UAS Program

Earth Science Mission Types Atmospheric Composition and Chemistry Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems Climate Change Water and Energy Weather Earth Surface and Interior

UAS System Capabilities High altitude, low altitude, stacked Long range, long endurance Varied payloads: remote sensing and in situ sampling Global missions: poles, equator, remote Over-the-horizon communications Collaborative planning, scheduling and tracking,especially for multiple aircraft operations

“Suborbital Science Missions of the Future” Platform Requirements

Example Missions

Atmospheric Chemistry Missions

Cloud, Aerosol, Water Vapor, and Total Water Measurements, cont’d

Vegetation Structure, Composition, and Canopy Chemistry, cont’d

Active Fire, Emissions, and Plume Assessment, cont’d

Southern Ocean Carbon Cycle, cont’d

Hurricane

Antarctic Explorer, cont’d

What we did this weekend

When we should have been working on this presentation

Bandwidth and Spectrum Summary HALE == Commercial Ku/Ka MALE == License, arer wide LAME == Commercial Iridium or equiv Mixed need all… NOBODY needs more Ch4 “notes”