All 2015 Content
Session
Technical Session XII: Science/Mission Payloads
Abstract
MISTiC Winds is an approach to improve short-term weather forecasting based on a miniature high resolution, wide field, thermal emission spectrometry instrument that will provide global tropospheric vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and humidity at high (3-4 km) horizontal and vertical ( 1 km) spatial resolution. Its extraordinarily small size, mass, and minimal cooling requirements can be accommodated aboard a 27U-class CubeSat or an ESPA-Class micro-satellite. Low fabrication and launch costs enable a LEO sun-synchronous sounding constellation that would collectively provide frequent (1-2 hour) sounding refresh rates or frequent, vertically resolved, tropospheric wind observations. These observations are highly complementary to present and emerging environmental observing systems, and would provide a combination of high vertical and horizontal resolution not provided by any other environmental observing system currently in operation. The spectral remote sensing measurements that would be provided by MISTiCTM Winds are similar to those of NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) that was built by BAE Systems and currently operates aboard the AQUA satellite. AIRS has been providing well-calibrated infrared spectral radiance observations used in weather and climate research and operational weather forecasting for more than a decade. These new observations, when assimilated into high resolution numerical weather models, would revolutionize short-term and severe weather forecasting, save lives, and support key economic decisions in the energy, air transport, and agriculture arenas–at much lower cost than providing these observations from geostationary orbit. In addition, this observation capability would be a critical tool for the study of transport processes for water vapor, clouds, pollution, and aerosols.
MISTiC Winds, a Micro-Satellite Constellation Approach to High Resolution Observations of the Atmosphere using Infrared Soundinga and 3D Winds Measurements
MISTiC Winds is an approach to improve short-term weather forecasting based on a miniature high resolution, wide field, thermal emission spectrometry instrument that will provide global tropospheric vertical profiles of atmospheric temperature and humidity at high (3-4 km) horizontal and vertical ( 1 km) spatial resolution. Its extraordinarily small size, mass, and minimal cooling requirements can be accommodated aboard a 27U-class CubeSat or an ESPA-Class micro-satellite. Low fabrication and launch costs enable a LEO sun-synchronous sounding constellation that would collectively provide frequent (1-2 hour) sounding refresh rates or frequent, vertically resolved, tropospheric wind observations. These observations are highly complementary to present and emerging environmental observing systems, and would provide a combination of high vertical and horizontal resolution not provided by any other environmental observing system currently in operation. The spectral remote sensing measurements that would be provided by MISTiCTM Winds are similar to those of NASA's Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) that was built by BAE Systems and currently operates aboard the AQUA satellite. AIRS has been providing well-calibrated infrared spectral radiance observations used in weather and climate research and operational weather forecasting for more than a decade. These new observations, when assimilated into high resolution numerical weather models, would revolutionize short-term and severe weather forecasting, save lives, and support key economic decisions in the energy, air transport, and agriculture arenas–at much lower cost than providing these observations from geostationary orbit. In addition, this observation capability would be a critical tool for the study of transport processes for water vapor, clouds, pollution, and aerosols.
