The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and
storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats
(TROPICS) investigation, 12 CubeSats about
a foot long each, will study the development of tropical cyclones by taking
measurements of temperature, precipitation and cloud properties as often as
every 21 minutes.
Credits: MIT Lincoln Laboratory
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NASA has selected two
proposals for new Earth science investigations that will put new instruments in
low-Earth orbit to track harmful particulate air pollutants and study the
development of tropical cyclones.
Observations of small atmospheric aerosols from the Multi-Angle
Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) will be combined with health information to
determine the toxicity of different particulate matter types in airborne
pollutants over the world’s major cities. David Diner of NASA’s Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, is the principal investigator.
The Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and
storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats (TROPICS) investigation will
develop and launch a constellation of CubeSats to study the development of
tropical cyclones through rapid-revisit sampling. William Blackwell of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington is the
principal investigator.
The instruments were competitively selected from 14 proposals
submitted to NASA's Earth Venture Instrument-3 program. Earth Venture
investigations are small, targeted science investigations that complement
NASA's larger missions. The National Research Council recommended in 2007 that
NASA undertake this type of regularly solicited, quick-turnaround project.
"We are excited to make selections that expand the use of
CubeSats for Earth sciences and that make measurements and perform analyses
that will have direct societal benefit," said Geoffrey Yoder, deputy
associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
"These innovative Earth Venture Instruments will join and expand our
growing suite of NASA Earth-observing sensors."
MAIA uses a twin-camera instrument that will make radiometric and
polarimetric measurements needed to characterize the sizes, compositions, and
quantities of particulate matter in air pollution. As part of the MAIA
investigation, researchers will combine MAIA measurements with population
health records to better understand the connections between aerosol pollutants
and health problems such as adverse birth outcomes, cardiovascular and
respiratory diseases, and premature deaths.
The MAIA team has extensive experience in polarimetry, air
pollution, and human health. Diner has led numerous polarimetry observations
from sub-orbital platforms throughout his career. The team includes
partnerships with NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, and
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, as well as several universities,
federal research organizations and international partners.
TROPICS will consist of 12 CubeSats, each about one foot long and
weighing just 8.5 pounds, that use scanning microwave radiometers to measure
temperature, humidity, precipitation and cloud properties. The CubeSats will be
launched into three separate orbital planes to enable the overall constellation
to monitor changes in tropical cyclones as frequently as every 21 minutes.
The TROPICS team has previous experience developing CubeSats and analyzing
satellite measurements of storms, and includes partnerships with NASA’s Wallops
Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, Goddard, several universities and
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
The two investigations were selected from NASA’s third Earth
Venture Instrument competition. The first Earth Venture Instrument
investigation, selected in 2012, the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of
Pollution (TEMPO) mission, will be the first space-based sensor to monitor
major chemical air pollutants across North American hourly during daytime. It
will share a ride on a commercial satellite as a hosted payload and orbit about
22,000 miles above the equator.
The second set of investigations selected in 2014 were the Global Ecosystem Dynamics
Investigation (GEDI) and ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer
Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS). These instruments will measure changes
in global vegetation from the International Space Station, illuminating how
forests and ecosystems are affected by changes in climate and land use.
Earth Venture missions are managed by NASA’s Earth System Science
Pathfinder program located at Langley for the Science Mission Directorate. The
missions in this program provide an innovative approach to address Earth
science research with periodic windows of opportunity to accommodate new
scientific priorities. For more information, visit:
NASA uses the vantage point of space to increase our understanding
of our home planet, improve lives, and safeguard our future. NASA develops new
ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term
data records. The agency freely shares this unique knowledge and works with
institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is
changing.
For more information about NASA’s Earth science activities, visit: