Transcript PowerPoint Presentation - Understanding and Protecting Our

NASA/US Ocean Satellite Missions
Eric J. Lindstrom
28 February 2008
OUTLINE
• NASA operating missions (13, 6 ocean)
• NASA missions in implementation and formulation
to launch 2008-2015
(9, 4 ocean)
• NASA missions beyond 2015 (11, 5 ocean)
• Challenges/Assessment - Transitions to
Operations
2
NASA Ocean Missions
SeaWiFS
SSM/I
SARs (variety)
AVHRR
Metop (OVSW)
Color (MERIS)
3
Missions in Development (launch by 2015)
OSTM
6/2008
OCO
12/2008
GLORY
2/2009
NPP
9/2009
AQUARIUS
5/2010
LDCM
7/2011
GPM
6/2013, 6/2014
SMAP 2012
ICESAT-2
2015
4
NASA Mid-Term Missions (5/15 total)
Decadal
Survey
Mission
Mission Description
Orbit
HyspIRI
Land surface composition for agriculture
and mineral characterization; vegetation
types for ecosystem health
LEO, SSO
Hyperspectral
spectrometer
ASCENDS
Day/night, all-latitude, all-season CO2
column integrals for climate emissions
LEO, SSO
Multifrequency laser
SWOT
Ocean, lake, and river water levels for
ocean and inland water dynamics
LEO, SSO
Ka-band wide swath radar
C-band radar
GEOCAPE
Atmospheric gas columns for air quality
forecasts; ocean color for coastal
ecosystem health and climate emissions
ACE
Aerosol and cloud profiles for climate
and water cycle; ocean color for open
ocean biogeochemistry
GEO
LEO, SSO
Instruments
High and low spatial
resolution hyperspectral
imagers
Backscatter lidar
Multiangle polarimeter
Doppler radar
5
NASA Far-Term Missions (6/15 total)
Decadal
Survey
Mission
Mission Description
Orbit
Instruments
LIST
Land surface topography for landslide
hazards and water runoff
LEO, SSO
Laser altimeter
PATH
High frequency, all-weather
temperature and humidity soundings
for weather forecasting and SST*
GEO
GRACE-II
High temporal resolution gravity fields
for tracking large-scale water
movement
LEO, SSO
Microwave or laser
ranging system
SCLP
Snow accumulation for fresh water
availability
LEO, SSO
Ku and X-band radars
K and Ka-band
radiometers
GACM
Ozone and related gases for
intercontinental air quality and
stratospheric ozone layer prediction
LEO, SSO
UV spectrometer
IR spectrometer
Microwave limb sounder
3D-Winds
(Demo)
Tropospheric winds for weather
forecasting and pollution transport
LEO, SSO
Doppler lidar
MW array spectrometer
*Cloud-independent, high temporal resolution, lower accuracy SST to complement, not replace, global
operational high-accuracy SST measurement
6
CHALLENGES AND ASSESSMENTS
• In some sense ocean measurements from space are
“overdue” for transition from research to operations.
Summarizing the near future “infrastructure” for ocean remote
sensing:
• Ocean color - transition not secure due to technical
problems on NPP/VIIRS instrument
• Sea Surface Temperature - transition secure with NPP,
NPOESS and foreign partners
• Ocean Vector Winds - transition not secure (Quikscat 9
years on orbit!)
• Ocean Surface Topography (sea level) - transition nearly
made. National need to “seal the deal” with
implementation of Jason-3 in FY10.
• WE HAVE MADE MUCH PROGRESS, BUT WE RISK
7
LOSING CRITICAL CAPABILITIES.