The role of UAS in meeting NASA’s science objectives

Steve WegenerBay Area Environmental Research Institute

NASA Ames Research Centersteven.s.wegener@nasa.gov

Shephard’s UV Europe

July 23, 2009

Outline

Why Airborne ScienceWhy UASNASA’s UASIssues and ChallengesLooking to the futureSummary

4

NASA Earth Science Satellites

NASA Airborne Science Program

Airborne observations fill time and space gap between surface observing networks and orbital platforms.

Sounding Rocket Program

Balloon Program

Aircraft & UAS Program

Program Objectives: Satellite Calibration and Validation

Provide best value methods to perform the cal/val requirements for Earth Observing System satellites

Process StudiesFacilitate best value to acquire high spatial/temporal resolution focused measurements that are required to understand small atmospheric and surface structures which generate powerful Earth system effects.

New Sensor DevelopmentProvide best value methods to reduce risk for new sensor concepts and algorithm development prior to committing sensors to spacecraft

Earth Science mission types

ScienceAtmospheric chemistry and composition: in situ compositionCarbon cycle and ecosystem science: green house gases and vegetationClimate change / cryospheric science: ice caps, sea ice, glaciersWater and energy cycle: surface water, soil moisture, clouds, radiationEarth surface and interior: fault lines, magnetic fields, volcanologyWeather: hurricanes, tornadoes, clouds, precipitation

ApplicationsNatural disasters: wildfire, flood, tsunami, volcanic plumesAgriculture: drought, vegetation healthAir quality: atmospheric pollutionEcological forecasting:Water resources:Weather:Public health:

Multiple Remote Sensing Approaches

Multispectral RADAR & SARHyperspectral Thermal

Surface LIDARAtmospheric LIDAR Passive Microwave

ScatterometryMicrowave RangingLimb Sounding Irradiance/Photometry

Airborne Science Requirements Activities

Suborbital Science Missions of the Future workshop (2004)• Produced nearly 50 mission descriptions for UAS

Civil UAS Assessment (2005)• Series of workshops• Report in 3 volumes

Suborbital Science Capabilities Requirements report (2007)• Major Airborne Science Program report• Includes manned and unmanned aircraft

Decadal Survey requirements report (2009)• Companion to Suborbital Science Requirements Report

• Focused on airborne requirements for Decadal Survey missions

• Instrument test, algorithm development, cal/val• Includes manned and unmanned aircraft• Due summer 2009

Air space access requirements

Mission type Air space locationDisaster monitoring / management Fire Forests, urban

interface Extreme Weather / Flood

Any land area

Hurricane Open ocean, coasts Civil / terror event Any land areaCommunications relay Land or oceanVolcano events Volcano land areasGreen house gas measurements

Land and oceans

Pollution plume following Land and oceansIce measurements Arctic, Antarctic,

glaciersSurface water / soil moisture monitoring

Land areas

Magnetic field measurements

Global

Why NASA is interested in UAS?

Unmanned aircraft systems provide observations Unmanned aircraft systems provide observations in remote or dangerous airspace where there is in remote or dangerous airspace where there is risk to pilot and aircraft. They also satisfy risk to pilot and aircraft. They also satisfy requirements for long- duration loitering and requirements for long- duration loitering and air-mass following. air-mass following.

Current UAS have the capability to provide Current UAS have the capability to provide observations that manned aircraft cannot observations that manned aircraft cannot achieve, and as systems mature and show achieve, and as systems mature and show promise, there is increased interest in their promise, there is increased interest in their use by many communities.use by many communities.

Coordination among federal agencies is Coordination among federal agencies is important given the complex, rapidly evolving important given the complex, rapidly evolving technologies as well as the policy/regulatory technologies as well as the policy/regulatory framework that will enable their use in the framework that will enable their use in the national and global airspace.national and global airspace.

UAS Requirements for Science: Workshop Inputs

Workshop Title / Sponsor Location and Date Website Address Suborbital Science Missions of the Future; NASA Earth Science Enterprise

Arlington, VA; July 2004

http://geo.arc.nasa.gov/uav -suborbital/workshop.html

Climate Change Workshop 1; NASA / NOAA / DOE

LaJolla, CA; August 2004

http://www.fsl.noaa.gov/uav_workshop/uav_workshop1/index.html

Climate Change Workshop 2; NASA / NOAA / DOE

Boulder, CO; December 2004

http://www.fsl.noaa.gov/uav_workshop/uav_workshop2/index.html

Sensor workshop; NASA Civil UAV Assessment

Akron, OH; April, 2005 http://www.innovationlabs.com/uav3/

Homeland Security applications; NASA

Crystal City, VA; July 2005

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/research/civuav/dhs_docs.html

Land Management and Coastal Zone Dynamics; NASA, Cal S tate University

Monterey, CA; July 2005

http://innovationlabs.com/uav5/

“Suborbital Science Missions of the Future” Platform Requirements

Altitude vs. Endurance

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

1 10 100 1000

Flight endurance, hours

Max Altitude, kft

1 day 2 days 3 4 5 7 10 14

Hurricane tracker(500kg)

Pollution tracking(1136kg)

Pollution tracking(900kg)

Weather forecasting(500kg)

Stratospheric ozone(1600kg)Water vapor

(545kg)

Tropospheric ozone(1000kg)

Extreme weather

Fire monitoring(180kg)

Aerosols, cloud and precip(500kg)

Clouds

Hurricane profile

Aerosols and radiation

Clouds and radiation

Fire plumeAntarctic glaciers

Carbon flux

Magnetic fields

Gravitationalacceleration

daughtership

Radiation

River discharge

3-D Global dropsondes

Volcano spectroscopy

Troposphere profileCloud aerosols

and particles

Ice sheets

NASA operated UAS

Global Hawk – AV-1 and AV-6 from USAF ACTD;

High altitude, long duration, heavy lift

First flights at Edwards in summer 2009; first science mission over the Pacific in September 2009

Desire to operate in Class A for routine radar mapping Ikhana (Predator-B)

Medium altitude, long duration, medium lift

Demonstrated successful operations in the Western US of fires in 2006, 2007, and 2008

Maintain fire monitoring capability 2009 SIERRA (Shadow/Viking class)

Low altitude, medium duration, light lift

Flight tested at Fort Hunter Liggett and Crows Landing

Desired operations offshore and in agricultural and wilderness areas

Historic & Current NASA UAS usage

• NASA Mini-Sniffer program (1975-82)• DOE ARM program• NASA ERAST program• USCG Alaska (Predator A, Nov. 2003)• NASA UAV SDP (11 proposals sent to phase 2), 2

selected based upon low cost after funding cuts to overall program (SDP cancelled)

• USCG & NASA Alaska (Altair, 2004)• NOAA/NASA Channel Islands (April-Nov. 2005)• Esperanza Fire emergency response • NASA/USFS Small UAS demonstration (Summer 2005)• NOAA/NASA Hurricane Boundary Layer Mission• Western States Fire Missions (2006-Present)• CASIE Sea Ice measurements • GloPac NASA, NOAA, Stratospheric Chemistry, and

Atmospheric rivers

GLOPAC: Global Hawk UAS-AVE vortex fragment flight

30 hour flightObjective 1: sample remaining polar vortex for ozone depleted airObjective 2: sample polar fragment over PacificObjective 3: Coordination with Aura satellite overpassObjective 4: Pole-to-tropics sampling of air massesObjective 5: Overflight of Mauna Loa lidar

Polar vortex

Vortex fragment

Aura overpasses

CASIE-09 Characterization of Arctic Sea Ice Experiment 2009

SIERRA

MissionMonitor Sea Ice Roughness as an Indicator of Fundamental Changes in the Arctic Ice CoverGoals:•Determine the degree to which ice-roughness monitoring via remote sensing can detect basic changes in ice conditions such as ice thickness and ice age.•Investigate relationships between ice roughness and factors affecting the loss or maintenance of the perennial ice cover.•Determine how roughness varies as a function of different kinematic conditions and ice properties.

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are needed to see this picture.

Second science flightSecond science flight

July 22, 2009July 22, 2009

Wildfire Research and Applications Partnership 2005-2008

Objectives:• Collaboratively define needs and data / information gaps for improving wildfire imaging;

• R & D of those required technologies;

• Demonstration and validation of those technologies;

• Technology transfer and training.

To:• Increase information content;

• Reduce information delivery time;

• Simplify data integration processes.

So. CA Missions October 2007

CDE In-Use at San Diego County EOC

1) WRAP-developed Wildfire - Collaborative Decision Environment (W-CDE) is operational in the National Incident Command Center (NICC) “war-room” at NIFC in August 2008. Integrations also occurring at the (GACCs) in late 2008 and 2009.Impact: More efficiently manage fire resources and info at the national and regional scale.Partner Investment: Over $100K in labor and management costs.

2) Building on WRAP sensor developments, USFS awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase 1 grant (2008) to Xiomas, Inc to replicate the AMS-Wildfire sensor capabilities for operational status.Impact: Same capabilities as NASA AMS-Wildfire for national fire operations by NIFC.Partner Investment: Currently ~$80K; Planned $1-3M for final sensor

3) Building on WRAP developments, USFS procured two data telemetry systems (AirCell) for 2009 installation into the NIFC NIROPS aircraft. Impacts: Reduce data delivery time from hours to minutes; order of magnitude decrease. Partner Investment: Exceeds $300K.

4) Building on WRAP demonstrations, USFS initiated contracting and procurement of small UAS test-bed platforms for tactical wildfire imaging.Impact: USFS one of only a handful of civil agencies with operational UAS experience.Partner Investment: Will exceed $100K in FY2009.

WRAP - TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

• Conventional WisdomConventional Wisdom• Acceptance in AirspaceAcceptance in Airspace• CostCost• ReliabilityReliability• RF SpectrumRF Spectrum• Contingency ManagementContingency Management

UAS Challenges from an Earth Science Perspective

Looking forward

•UAS in sensor web•Ice Bridge•Earth Venture•Partner in Progress

•Great potential•Great challenges•Great successes•UAS are valuable tools for Earth Science

Summary

Thank you

Steve WegenerSteve Wegener

NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-5NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-5

Moffett Field, CA 94025Moffett Field, CA 94025

650/604-6278650/604-6278

swegener@mail.arc.nasa.govswegener@mail.arc.nasa.gov

Thank You