The geoCARB sensor uses a 4-channel push broom slit-scan infrared imaging grating spectrometer to measure the absorption spectra of sunlight reflected from the ground in narrow wavelength regions. The instrument is designed for flight at geostationary orbit to provide mapping of greenhouse gases over continental scales, several times per day, with a spatial resolution of a few kilometers. The sensor provides multiple daily maps of column-averaged mixing ratios of CO2, CH4, and CO over the regions of interest, which enables flux determination at unprecedented time, space, and accuracy scales. The geoCARB sensor development is based on our experience in successful implementation of advanced space deployed optical instruments for remote sensing. A few recent examples include the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) and Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on the geostationary Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS GEO-1) and the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS), along with sensors under development, the Near Infared camera (NIRCam) for James Webb (JWST), and the Global Lightning Mapper (GLM) and Solar UltraViolet Imager (SUVI) for the GOES-R series. The Tropospheric Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (TIMS), developed in part through the NASA Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), provides an important part of the strong technological foundation for geoCARB. The paper discusses subsystem heritage and technology readiness levels for these subsystems. The system level flight technology readiness and methods used to determine this level are presented along with plans to enhance the level.
The Stellar Imager (SI) is a far-horizon or "Vision" mission in the NASA Sun-Earth Connection (SEC) Roadmap, conceived for the purpose of understanding the effects of stellar magnetic fields, the dynamos that generate them, and the internal structure and dynamics of the stars in which they exist. The ultimate goal is to achieve the best possible forecasting of solar/stellar activity and its impact on life in the Universe. The science goals of SI require an ultra-high angular resolution, at ultraviolet wavelengths, on the order of 0.1 milliarcsec and thus baselines on the order of 500 meters. These requirements call for a large, multi-spacecraft (>20) imaging interferometer, utilizing precision formation flying in a stable environment, such as in a Lissajous orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. SI's resolution (several 100 times that of HST) will make it an invaluable resource for many other areas of astrophysics, including studies of AGN's, supernovae, cataclysmic variables, young stellar objects, QSO's, and stellar black holes. In this paper, we present an update on the ongoing mission concept and technology development studies for SI. These studies are designed to refine the mission requirements for the science goals, define a Design Reference Mission, perform trade studies of selected major technical and architectural issues, improve the existing technology roadmap, and explore the details of deployment and operations, as well as the possible roles of astronauts and/or robots in construction and servicing of the facility.
The Atmospheric X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (PEM/AXIS) aboard NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) provides continuous horizon to horizon images, both day and night, of the 3to 100-keY x-ray flux emitted from the top of the atmosphere. AXIS achieves a spatial resolution to better than 100 km using a 1—dimensional array of 16 passively cooled silicon detectors. The primary purpose of this instrument is to provide a global monitor of electron energy input to the upper atmosphere. The intensity and energy distribution of electrons precipitating into the atmosphere can be inferred from the x-ray bremsstrahlung spectra. The resulting images and spectra are also a rich source of information on the structure and dynamics of the magnetosphere. AXIS is part of the Particle Environment Monitor (PEM) investigation on UARS, launched 12 September 1991 into a 585km by 57° inclination orbit. We describe the design, development, and calibration of AXIS and provide an assessment of its excellent on-orbit performance. The unique capabilities of x-ray imaging spectrometers are demonstrated through an analysis of specific examples from October and November 1991 .Important new developments for follow-on instruments also will be described.
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