The Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) CarbonHawk Experiment Simulator (ACES) is a NASA Langley Research Center instrument funded by NASA’s Science Mission Directorate that seeks to advance technologies critical to measuring atmospheric column carbon dioxide (CO2) mixing ratios in support of the NASA ASCENDS mission. The ACES instrument, an Intensity-Modulated Continuous-Wave (IM-CW) lidar, was designed for high-altitude aircraft operations and can be directly applied to space instrumentation to meet the ASCENDS mission requirements. Airborne flight campaigns have been used to demonstrate ACES’ advanced technologies critical for a spaceborne instrument with lower platform consumption of size, mass, and power, and with improved performance. ACES recently flew on the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the 2017 NASA ASCENDS/Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) airborne measurement campaign to test ASCENDS-related technologies in the challenging Arctic environment. Data were collected over a wide variety of surface reflectivities, terrain, and atmospheric conditions during the campaign’s eight research flights. ACES also flew during the 2017 and 2018 Atmospheric Carbon and Transport – America (ACT-America) Earth Venture Suborbital - 2 (EVS-2) campaigns along with the primary ACT-America CO2 lidar, Harris Corporation’s Multi-Frequency Fiber Laser Lidar (MFLL). Regional CO2 distributions of the lower atmosphere were observed from the C-130 aircraft during the ACT-America campaigns in support of ACT-America’s science objectives. The airborne lidars provide unique remote data that complement data from more traditional in situ sensors. This presentation shows the applications of CO2 lidars in meeting these science needs from airborne platforms and an eventual spacecraft.
Global atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements for the NASA Active Sensing of CO2 Emissions over Nights, Days, and Seasons (ASCENDS) space mission are critical for improving our understanding of global CO2 sources and sinks. Advanced Intensity- Modulated Continuous-Wave (IM-CW) lidar techniques are investigated as a means of facilitating CO2 measurements from space to meet the ASCENDS measurement requirements. In recent numerical, laboratory and flight experiments we have successfully used the Binary Phase Shift Keying (BPSK) modulation technique to uniquely discriminate surface lidar returns from intermediate aerosol and cloud contamination. We demonstrate the utility of BPSK to eliminate sidelobes in the range profile as a means of making Integrated Path Differential Absorption (IPDA) column CO2 measurements in the presence of optically thin clouds, thereby eliminating the need to correct for sidelobe bias errors caused by the clouds. Furthermore, high accuracy and precision ranging to the surface as well as to the top of intermediate cloud layers, which is a requirement for the inversion of column CO2 number density measurements to column CO2 mixing ratios, has been demonstrated using new hyperfine interpolation techniques that takes advantage of the periodicity of the modulation waveforms. This approach works well for both BPSK and linear swept-frequency modulation techniques. The BPSK technique under investigation has excellent auto-correlation properties while possessing a finite bandwidth. A comparison of BPSK and linear swept-frequency is also discussed in this paper. These results are extended to include Richardson-Lucy deconvolution techniques to extend the resolution of the lidar beyond that implied by limit of the bandwidth of the modulation, where it is shown useful for making tree canopy measurements.
NASA Langley Research Center is working on a continuous wave (cw) laser-based remote sensing scheme for the detection of CO2 and O2 from space-based platforms suitable for an active sensing of CO2 emissions over nights, days, and seasons (ASCENDS) mission. ASCENDS is a future space-based mission to determine the global distribution of sources and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). A unique, multifrequency, intensity modulated cw laser absorption spectrometer operating at 1.57 μm for CO2 sensing has been developed. Effective aerosol and cloud discrimination techniques are being investigated in order to determine concentration values with accuracies less than 0.3%. In this paper, we discuss the demonstration of a pseudonoise code-based technique for cloud and aerosol discrimination applications. The possibility of using maximum length sequences for range and absorption measurements is investigated. A simple model for accomplishing this objective is formulated. Proof-of-concept experiments carried out using a sonar-based LIDAR simulator that was built using simple audio hardware provided promising results for extension into optical wavelengths.
NASA Langley Research Center is working on a continuous wave (CW) laser based remote sensing scheme for the
detection of CO2and O2 from space based platforms suitable for ACTIVE SENSING OF CO2 EMISSIONS OVER
NIGHTS, DAYS, AND SEASONS (ASCENDS) mission. ASCENDS is a future space-based mission to determine the
global distribution of sources and sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). A unique, multi-frequency, intensity
modulated CW (IMCW) laser absorption spectrometer (LAS) operating at 1.57 micron for CO2 sensing has been
developed. Effective aerosol and cloud discrimination techniques are being investigated in order to determine
concentration values with accuracies less than 0.3%. In this paper, we discuss the demonstration of a PN code based
technique for cloud and aerosol discrimination applications. The possibility of using maximum length (ML)-sequences
for range and absorption measurements is investigated. A simple model for accomplishing this objective is formulated,
Proof-of-concept experiments carried out using SONAR based LIDAR simulator that was built using simple audio
hardware provided promising results for extension into optical wavelengths.
Risk mitigation activities associated with a prototype imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) system are continuing at
the NASA Langley Research Center. The system concept and technology center about enabling and improving future
space-based atmospheric composition missions, with a current focus on observing tropospheric ozone around 9.6
micron, while having applicability toward measurement in different spectral regions and other applications. Recent
activities have focused on improving an optical element control subsystem to enable precise and accurate positioning
and control of etalon plates; this is needed to provide high system spectral fidelity critical for enabling the required
ability to spectrally-resolve atmospheric line structure. The latest results pertaining to methodology enhancements,
system implementation, and laboratory characterization testing are discussed.
Risk mitigation activities for a prototype imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) system, development originating
within NASA's Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) for enabling future space-based atmospheric composition missions,
are continuing at NASA Langley Research Center. The system concept and technology are focused on observing
tropospheric ozone around 9.6 micron, but also have applicability toward measurement of other trace species in different
spectral regions and other applications. The latest results from performance improvement and laboratory
characterization activities will be reported, with an emphasis placed on testing performed to evaluate system-level
radiometric, spatial, and spectral measurement fidelity.
An airborne imaging Fabry-Perot Interferometer (FPI) system was developed within NASA's Instrument Incubator
Program (IIP) to mitigate risk associated with implementation of such a device in future space-based atmospheric
remote sensing missions. This system is focused on observing tropospheric ozone through measuring a narrow
spectral interval within the strong 9.6 micron infrared ozone band at high spectral resolution, while the concept and
technology also have applicability toward measurement of other trace species and other applications. The latest
results from laboratory testing and characterization of enabling subsystems and the overall instrument system will
be reported, with an emphasis placed on testing performed to evaluate system-level radiometric, spatial, and spectral
measurement fidelity.
A NASTRAN non-linear finite element model has been developed for predicting the dome heights of THUNDER (Thin Layer Unimorph Ferroelectric Driver) piezoelectric actuators. To analytically validate the finite element model, a comparison was made with a non-linear plate solution using Von Karmen's approximation. A 500 volt input was used to examine the actuator deformation. The NASTRAN finite element model was also compared with experimental results. Four groups of specimens were fabricated and tested. Four different input voltages, which included 120, 160, 200, and 240 Vp-p with a 0 volts offset, were used for this comparison.
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