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Understanding and Protecting Our Home Planet: NASA and Earth Science

Understanding and Protecting Our Home Planet: NASA and Earth Science. Cheryl Yuhas Suborbital Science Program Manager. Earth Science in NASA’s Mission. Understand and Protect Our Home Planet by using our view from space to study the Earth system and improve prediction of Earth system change

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Understanding and Protecting Our Home Planet: NASA and Earth Science

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  1. Understanding and Protecting Our Home Planet:NASA and Earth Science Cheryl Yuhas Suborbital Science Program Manager

  2. Earth Science in NASA’s Mission • Understand and Protect Our Home Planet by using our view from space to study the Earth system and improve prediction of Earth system change • Help Explore the Universe and Search for Life by applying our scientific understanding of the Earth system to the identification and study of Earth-like planets around other stars • Inspire the Next Generation of Earth Explorers by providing Earth system science content and training to educators, and by sponsoring the education and early careers of Earth scientists

  3. Overarching Science Questions • How is the global Earth system changing? • What are the primary forcings of the Earth system? • How does the Earth system respond to natural and human-induced changes? • What are the consequencesof changes in the Earth system for human civilization? • How well can we predict future changes in the Earth system? How is the Earth changing and what are the consequences of life on Earth?

  4. Aqua SORCE QuikScat SAGE III TRMM SeaWinds Terra UARS Landsat 7 Earth Observation from Space Today GRACE We have given the world its first capability to study the Earth as a system Jason EO-1 SeaWiFS ICESat ACRIMSAT TOMS-EP ERBS TOPEX/Poseidon

  5. But Much More Remains to Be Done to Achieve a Comprehensive, Coordinated & Sustained Global Observing System A Comprehensive Global Observing System

  6. Suborbital Science Programs To understand and protect our home planet, we need data from multiple perspectives. Suborbital fills time and space gap between surface observing networks and orbital platforms. • Objectives • Development of new space sensors and new remote-sensing techniques. • Satellite calibration/validation. • Targeted observations of ephemeral phenomena with variable temporal and spatial scales. • Atmosphere/near-space in-situ observations. • Improvement and validation of predictive Earth process models using satellite data. • Next-generation scientists with hands-on sensor hardware and field experiment experience. Sounding Rocket Program Balloon Program Aircraft & UAV Programs

  7. Higher altitude rockets with high resolution instruments opened the door to a whole new class of auroral physics phenomena. • Field Aligned Electron Bursts • Ion Conics • Lower Hybrid Solitary Structures • Large Amplitude Alfvén Waves • Intense Langmuir Waves • Shock-Like Electric Fields New Physics New Capabilities on Sounding Rockets Enabled New Studies of Auroral Physics • Early Rocket Observations (1960’s, 70’s) Discovered the source of auroral light is due to keV electron beams Explored auroral optical emissions, Ionosphere fields, currents, effects, etc. 1500 1000 Altitude (km) 500 Auroral Optical Emissions 0

  8. Suborbital Observing Capabilities: Aircraft/UAVs 30 Performance Envelope ER2 Stratosphere 20 WB57 GH (ALTAIR) Pr (ALTUS II) ALTAIR Cirrus ALTUS-II Tropical Tropopause Altitude (km) (ALTUS I) L Convective Detrainment DC8 ALTUS-I 10 P3 Polar Tropopause GH = Global Hawk Pr = Proteus L = Lear Jet UAV Troposphere Walker Circulation Planetary Scale Synoptic Scale ITCZ Width Mesoscale 0 Boundary Layer 8000 12000 0 4000 Range (nm) Newman & Schoeberl, GSFC Payload is proportional to font size (truncated at 2000 lb. and 600 lb.) Bold indicates payload greater than 2000 lb.

  9. NASA Suborbital Science Missions of the Future Workshop: 31 Mission Concepts in 6 Science Focus Areas Multiple requirements for cloud data Vertical resolution data through atmosphere & into ocean Almost universal OTH requirements Real-time data to the scientist on the ground, at least for QA Many, many missions with multiple, coordinated platforms Interesting combinations of mother/daughter platforms, sondes Intelligent, autonomous tracking of events or phenomena Synergy with satellite activities. Interagency Workshop for UAV Collaboration: 11 Proposals to Demonstrate UAV Enhancement of Science Objectives. 3 areas identified as high-value demonstration missions High Impact Events Carbon Fluxes Climate Profiles Results from Previous Workshops

  10. Internal Structure of Hurricane Bonnie from NASA research aircraft Satellites Provide Global Observations - Suborbital Provides Key In-Situ/Local Observations Hurricane size and landfall observation from GOES Hurricane winds as an ocean anomaly from QuikSCAT Combining Global, Regional, and Local Scale Views Improves Understanding of Processes and Variability Trends

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