2008 annual report

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Earth Science Technology Office
Executive Summary

This year, the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) celebrates its decadal anniversary. We take 

great pride in the efforts and accomplishments of the many projects we have funded and managed 

over the past 10 years. In this special 10th anniversary annual report, we take a look back at some of 

those accomplishments, highlight Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08) progress, and look forward to the future 

challenges for technology development for the Earth sciences. 

FY08 has been another productive year for ESTO. Activities have focused on guidance provided by the 

National Research Council (NRC) of the National Academies, in the first-ever decadal survey for Earth 

science: “Earth Science and Applications from Space.” We are pleased to note that ESTO technologies 

are directly applicable to every mission outlined by this decadal survey. 

Twenty one new projects were awarded funding under an Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) 

solicitation, bringing the total ESTO portfolio to more than 535 active and completed technology 

investments. Solicitations were also released by the Advanced Component Technologies (ACT) and 

Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) programs with awards expected in FY09. 

ESTO also continues to build upon a strong history of technology infusion. In FY08 over 11% of active 

ESTO technology projects achieved actual infusion into science measurements, system demonstrations, 

or societal applications, and an additional 74% have a path identified for future infusion. For the whole 

of ESTO’s portfolio, excluding active projects, the infusion rate is over 33%.

We continue to be very proud of the achievements of our principal investigators and the contributions 

they make to the future of Earth science, and look forward to another year of innovations in FY09.

George J. Komar Amy Walton

1

About ESTO

As the lead technology office within 

the Earth Science Division of the NASA 

Science Mission Directorate, the Earth 

Science Technology Office (ESTO) performs strategic technology planning 

and manages the development of a 

range of advanced technologies for 

future science measurements and 

operational requirements. ESTO technology investments attempt to address 

the full science measurement process: 

from the instruments and platforms 

needed to make observations, to the 

data systems and information products 

that make those observations useful.

ESTO’s approach to technology 

development is also end-to-end:

• Planning technology investments 

through comprehensive analyses of 

science requirements

• Developing technologies through 

competitive solicitations and 

partnership opportunities

• Actively managing technologies 

throughout their course of funding

• Making technologies available to 

scientists and mission managers for 

infusion

ESTO employs an open, flexible, 

science-driven strategy that relies on 

competitive, peer-reviewed solicitations 

to produce the best cutting-edge technologies. In some cases, investments 

are leveraged through partnerships to 

mitigate financial risk and to create a 

broader audience for technology 

infusion. 

The results speak for themselves: a 

varied portfolio of over 535 emerging 

technologies that can enable and/or 

enhance future science measurements 

and an ever-growing number of 

infusion successes.

From instruments 

to data access, 

ESTO technologies enable a full 

range of scientific 

measurements

Contents

About ESTO •••••••••••••• 1

Metrics •••••••••••••• 2-3

10 Years of ESTO •••••••••••••• 4-9

2008 in Review:

 - Instruments •••••••••••••• 10-11

 - Information Systems•••••••••••••• 12-13

 - Components •••••••••••••• 14

 - Lasers •••••••••••••• 15

Future Challenges •••••••••••••• 16

Additional Resources •••••••••••••• 17
2008 Metrics

With more than 440 completed 

technology investments and a 

current, active portfolio of nearly 

100 projects, ESTO is helping to 

build NASA’s reputation for devel-

oping and advancing leading-edge 

technologies. 

How did ESTO do this year? 

Here are few of our successes for fiscal 

year 2008 (FY08), tied to NASA’s per-

formance goals for ESTO:

GOAL: Annually advance 25% of funded 

technology projects one Technology 

Readiness Level (TRL). 

FY08 RESULT: 46.3% of currently 

funded technology projects advanced at 

least one TRL during FY08. See the 

graph below for yearly comparisons. 

SPOTLIGHT: ESTC2008

ESTO held its eighth-annual 

technology conference – the NASA 

Earth Science Technology Conference 

2008 (ESTC2008) – June 2008 at the 

University of Maryland, College Park. 

The event showcased a wide array of 

technology research and development related to NASA’s 

Earth science endeavors. 

GOAL: Enable, or significantly improve 

the performance of, a science 

measurement capability.

FY08 RESULT: Several ESTO projects 

satisfied this goal for FY08. Here are 

two notable examples:

- The Raman Airborne Spectroscopic 

Lidar (RASL) instrument was flown 

several times on a KingAir aircraft in 

support of the Water Vapor Validation 

Experiments (WAVES) campaign and 

produced the first-ever simultaneous 

measurements of tropospheric water 

vapor mixing ratio and aerosol extinc-

tion from an airborne platform. 

- An inter-operable sensor architecture 

system that integrates four satellites, 

a UAV, and multiple ground sensors, 

data algorithms, and models has 

been demonstrated as a tool to help 

manage wildfires. 

GOAL: Mature two to three technolo-

gies to the point where they can be 

demonstrated in space or in an 

operational environment.

FY08 RESULTS: Numerous ESTO 

projects achieved actual infusion in 

FY08. Two notable examples are:

 

- The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle 

Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAV-SAR) 

project completed over 25 test 

flights in FY08. This L-Band radar 

instrument is able to measure 

millimeter-scale changes in the 

Earth’s surface and will soon be 

available for science campaigns. See 

page 11 for additional information 

on the UAV-SAR project.

2

- The Semantically-Enabled Scientific 

Data Integration (SESDI) tool allows 

data from various sources to be eas-

ily accessed and understood using 

simple, plain-English queries. Several 

data sources covering various topics, 

from volcanos to atmospheric 

chemistry, have been 

registered and are 

now being used 

by scientists.

3

ESTO’s Infusion 

Success (from 

over 440 com-

pleted projects 

through FY08)

Each dot 

represents one of 

the over 535

projects (active 

and completed) in 

ESTO’s portfolio. 

ESTO’s principal 

investigators hail 

from more than100 

organizations in 32 

states. 

Co-investigators 

on these projects 

number well over 

800 and represent 

nearly every state 

and the District of 

Columbia.

The agenda included nearly 60 technical papers in two 

parallel tracks of sessions. Luncheon talks were given by 

George Komar, Associate Director of Earth Science Technology, and Dr. Wayne 

Esaias, a biological oceanographer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 

Attendees included a cross-section of representation from various NASA cen-

ters, industry, and academia. The full proceedings from ESTC2008, including 

abstracts and papers, are available at the ESTO website.

Percentage of 

Active Projects 

that Advanced 

at Least 1 TRL 

during each 

Fiscal Year (FY)

0%

25% Goal

Fiscal Year

FY99 FY00 FY01 FY02 FY03 FY04 FY05 FY06 FY07

26%

41%

35%

52%

39%

28%

39%

36%

41%

46%

FY08
4 5

10 Years of ESTO - A Special Anniversary Section

1998 1999 2000 2001

In June 1997, the report from a NASA Earth Science Biennial Review recommended 

that future Earth science missions be implemented with “shorter development time 

and using the best suitable technology.” To help meet this challenge, the Earth 

Science Technology Office (ESTO) was created in March of 1998 to fund and manage 

a broad portfolio of emerging technologies, based upon science measurement 

objectives, for infusion into a range of future campaigns and missions.

From the very beginning, ESTO has relied on free and open competition, a robust 

peer review process, and active project management to help guarantee that the best 

technologies are developed in a timely manner and made available to mission 

managers and scientists as needs arise. 

The ESTO approach to technology development has proven very fruitful: more than 

one third of ESTO-funded technologies have already been infused into NASA missions or other applications and ESTO instrument investments support all of the 

missions outlined by the NRC Earth science decadal survey. What follows on the next 

few pages are a few examples of ESTO technology successes over the past 10 years.

Observation 

Technologies

Information

Technologies

The first 27 ESTO technology 

projects awarded under the 

Instrument Incubator Program 

(IIP). 22 technology studies 

were also initiated.

30 projects awarded by the 

Advanced Information 

Systems Technology (AIST) 

program

23 projects awarded under the Advanced 

Technologies Initiatives Program (ATIP). 

A few ATIP projects directly support the

information systems area.

In 2000, the NASA Laser Risk Reduction Program 

(LRRP) was initiated so that NASA might “maintain 

its internal laser expertise.” ESTO was tasked with 

managing the overall effort and several new LRRP 

tasks are added to the ESTO portfolio in each year.

11 new instrument projects 

awarded funding under the 

IIP in 2001

The first 60 information systems 

projects were incorporated into 

ESTO from existing NASA 

programs in 1998 and 1999. Computational Technology 

(CT) program added to ESTO 

portfolio in 2000 with 14 

initial projects. 

This false color, far infrared image of a NASA 

engineer was taken 

with the one megapixel 

Quantum Well Infrared 

Photodetector (QWIP), 

the world’s largest 

infrared detector as of 

2006. The QWIP project was first funded by 

an ATIP award in 1999 

and subsequently by an 

Advanced Component 

Technology (ACT) program award in 2002. 

128

144

The Laser Risk Reduction Program has produced leadingedge laser technologies for NASA as well as for use in 

spin-off applications. This image shows a clean, distinct 

cut made in human tissue by an LRRP-funded, eye-safe, 

40 watt, 1.94 micron Thulium fiber laser that has shown 

promise for use in medical procedures. 

The above graph, which continues on following pages, shows the 

steady growth and progression of the ESTO portfolio of investments 

(active and completed projects) over the past 10 years.

Additional CT projects 

added in 2001 and in 

subsequent years. 
6 7

2002 2003 2004 2005

9 instrument projects 

awarded funding under 

the IIP in 2002

14 projects awarded funding

under the Advanced Component 

Technologies (ACT) program

23 instrument 

projects awarded 

under the IIP

14 component projects 

awarded under the ACT 

program

21 information 

systems projects 

awarded under the 

AIST program

241

10 Years of ESTO - A Special Anniversary Section

6 information systems projects awarded 

funding under the AIST program through 

a mini-solicitation 

The QuakeSim project, funded by the AIST program beginning in 2003, developed a solid Earth science framework 

for modeling and understanding earthquake and tectonic 

processes. The project focused on integrating various data 

sources and models within a web-based portal that led 

to significant improvements in earthquake forecasting. 

In fact, by 2004 a model developed using the QuakeSim 

technology accurately forecast 15 of California’s 16 largest 

earthquakes for the decade. Today, QuakeSim is providing 

critical design and science infrastructure support to the 

NASA DESDynI mission

This interferogram of the 

1992 Landers, California, 

earthquake was produced 

by the GeoFEST finite element model, a QuakeSim 

modeling environment.

In 2004, a promising IIP technology for surface deformation measurements from an airborne platform was 

tapped by NASA for further development. This project 

became the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle - Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAV-SAR) program within ESTO and by 2008, 

the instrument was flying regularly on demonstration 

missions. (See p.11 for an FY08 update)

The IIP-funded FIRST (Far 

Infrared Spectroscopy 

of the Troposphere) 

instrument was successfully demonstrated in 

2005 on a high-altitude 

research balloon flight 

over Ft. Sumner, NM. 

FIRST provided the firstever infrared emission 

spectrum of the Earth 

in the 10-100 micron 

range, a spectral region 

128

144

25 projects added 

through the CT 

program

Nearly 30 projects incorporated 

into ESTO from the NASA Space 

Operations Management Office 

Several projects added 

through the CT program 

Several LRRP laser 

projects added in 

2002 and 2003

The UAV-SAR project spun out 

of IIP and becomes a standalone 

ESTO program (see below) 

This flexible Transmit / Receive (T/R) module was developed under an ACT-funded 

task that sought to advance the state-ofthe-art technologies for large aperture 

scanning antennas. By integrating the T/R 

components directly onto a flexible membrane, a large antenna might be rolled or 

folded for launch and deployed in space. 

Observation Technologies

Information Technologies

222

that contains over 50% of 

Earth’s longwave radiation.
8 9

2006 2007 2008 2009

10 Years of ESTO - A Special Anniversary Section

261

281

222

241

28 information systems projects awarded 

funding under the AIST program

Additional AIST program awards 

to be announced in early 2009

Additional ACT program awards 

to be announced in early 2009

21 Instrument projects awarded 

funding under the IIP in 2008 Several laser projects added 

under LRRP in 2007

Several laser projects added 

under LRRP in 2006

This radiation-tolerant, stackedmemory array, developed with AIST 

funding in 2006, is suitable for both geostationary and 

low Earth orbit missions. The array is designed for high 

performance space-based computing applications, including: real-time data processing, reconfigurable computing, 

and other memory-intensive systems. With 2 Gigabits of 

error-corrected memory and weighing only 60 grams, this 

technology enables new measurement scenarios and 

reduces the risk, cost, size, and development time of 

future space-based systems.

Funded by the ACT program from 2005 to 

2008, this radio frequency interference 

(RFI) suppression system may soon be key 

to clearer microwave radiometer measurements from space, particularly as wireless 

communications and other services proliferate and crowd the spectrum over heavily 

populated areas.

In 2007, the IIP-funded Pathfinder Airborne Radar Ice Sounder (PARIS) completed 10 days of test flights on 

board the NASA P-3 aircraft and collected more than 900 GB of data over northern Greenland. As it was 

designed and developed to do, the 150 MHz radar instrument successfully sounded, from high altitude, 

the internal layering and bottom (basal) topography of the Greenland ice sheet along the flight routes. The 

demonstration represents a large step toward a future space-based radar system for Earth’s ice sheets.

Observation Technologies

Information Technologies

Several information systems 

partnering projects added in 2007/08
10 11

The Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle Synthetic Aperture Radar (UAV-SAR) project completed significant 

operational and test flights in FY08 on board the NASA Gulfstream III (G-III) aircraft. The flights, 

conducted over California and Washington, have clearly demonstrated the instrument’s value as a 

science platform and have returned some stunning images. 

UAV-SAR, a reconfigurable, polarimetric L-band SAR built at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, is specifically designed to acquire airborne repeat pass SAR data for differential interferometric measurements. Repeat pass interferometry is a technique that requires the aircraft to fly each pass 

as close to the original flight line as possible. This feat is achieved using a sophisticated autopilot 

system developed at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center that can repeat the flight path within 

a ten meter diameter tube.

Data collected by the UAV-SAR instrument on each repeat pass are compared to examine changes, 

to millimeter-level resolution, in the Earth’s surface. The resulting surface displacement measurements are useful for a variety of scientific objectives, such as volcano and earthquake activity, 

ice velocity, hydrology, erosion, and even archeology. The project team is currently examining the 

modifications needed to mount the instrument pod on a Global Hawk UAV for missions requiring 

extended range or endurance.

SPOTLIGHT: UAV-SAR Completes Over 25 Test Flights in FY08, Returns Science Data

This false color, composite image of Mt. St. Helens was constructed by assigning colors (red, blue, 

and green) to three of the polarimetric layers collected by a single pass of the UAV-SAR instrument 

from an altitude of 41,000 feet. The image shows an area approximately 20 kilometers wide with 

an original resolution of approximately 6 meters per pixel. Although covered with snow at the time, 

many features within the lava dome of Mount St. Helens are visible as the radar partially penetrates the snow layer. Also clearly visible is the tree line, in green, surrounding the peak. 

2008 in Review: Instruments

The Instrument Incubator Program 

(IIP) provides funding for new instrument and measurement techniques, 

from concept development through 

breadboard and flight demonstrations. 

Instrument development of this scale 

outside of a flight project consistently 

leads to smaller, less resource intensive, and easier to build flight instruments. Furthermore, developing and 

validating these technologies before 

mission development improves their 

acceptance and infusion by mission 

planners and significantly reduces 

costs and schedule uncertainties.

The IIP held some 45 active projects in 

FY08, 21 of which were added during 

the year through a competitive solicitation that was broadly aimed at addressing the science measurement objectives 

put forward by the National Research 

Council decadal survey. These new 

projects are: 

• CO2 Laser Sounder for ASCENDS 

• Shortwave Infrared Polarimetric Imager

• Infrared Correlation Radiometer

• Laser Ranging Frequency Stabilization 

Subsystem for GRACE II

• Ka-band SAR Interferometry Studies

• An Optical Autocovariance Direct 

Detection Wind Lidar

• Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer

• Laser Approach for CO2 Columns

• Hyperspectral Thermal Emission 

Spectrometer for HyspIRI-TIR Science

• Airborne Demonstration of an Autonomous Operation Coherent Doppler 

Lidar (DAWN Air II)

• Hyperspectral Imager to Meet CLARREO 

Goals of High Absolute Accuracy and 

On-Orbit Traceability

• GeoSTAR technology development

• Ocean Radiometer for Carbon 

Assessment (ORCA) Prototype

• Electronically Steerable Flash Lidar

• Scanning Microwave Limb Sounder

• Calibrated Observations of Radiance Spectra

• A Multi-parameter Atmospheric Profiling Radar for ACE

• Lightweight, 3-D Integrated X-Band Radar

• Advanced Accuracy Satellite Instrumentation

• Panchromatic Fourier Transform Spectrometer (PanFTS) 

• Efficient Swath Mapping Laser Altimetry Demonstration 

The IIP graduated one project in FY08: the Pathfinder 

Airborne Radar Ice Sounder (PARIS). This particular project 

completed 10 days of test flights over Greenland in 2007 

that demonstrated the instrument’s ability to measure the 

topography of bedrock under an ice sheet (basal 

topography) as well as ice sheet layering characteristics. 

Before and After: The IIP-funded Doppler Aerosol WiND Lidar 

(DAWN) project is developing and packaging 2-micron laser 

components into an instrument system capable of coherent 

wind measurements in support of the proposed 3D Winds 

NRC decadal survey mission. The photo above shows a program technologist, Grady Koch of NASA Langley Research 

Center, giving visual aid to a remarkable reduction in the 

size of the DAWN transmitter – from the entire benchtop 

breadboard in the foreground (approximately 4 x 8 feet) to 

the packaged system held by Grady. The package was significantly ruggedized as well. The project team was recently 

awarded new funding by the IIP for further development and 

high altitude aircraft demonstrations.

Instruments
Information Systems 

2008 in Review: Information Systems

Advanced information systems are used 

to process, archive, access, visualize, 

communicate, and understand science 

data. Advanced computing and communications concepts that permit the 

transmission and management of terabytes of data are essential to NASA’s 

vision of a virtually unified observational network. ESTO’s Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) program employs an end-to-end approach 

to evolve these critical technologies 

– from the space segment, where the 

information pipeline begins, to the end 

user, where knowledge is advanced.

The AIST program held 42 active investments in FY08, 10 of which graduated 

over the course of the year. All of the 

FY08 AIST program graduates advanced 

at least one TRL while active. 

An AIST solicitation released in June 

2008 is expected to award additional 

projects in early FY09. This solicitation 

focused on three areas that are critically needed to support future Earth 

science measurements:

- Sensor System Support to incorporate

autonomy and rapid response in the sensing process and improve the science value 

of data; 

- Advanced Data Processing to improve or 

enhance the information extracted from the 

data stream; and

- Data Services Management to better 

manage the growing body of Earth science 

data and allow for efficient exchange.

12

In June 2008, the ‘Reconfigurable Sensor Networks for FaultTolerant In-Situ Sampling’ project team deployed a fleet of 

three SnoMote robots to test their mobile sensor network on 

Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska. The autonomous SnoMotes are 

designed to gather in-situ science data in dangerous, volatile 

ice environments in order to augment remote sensing data 

with accurate ground-truth measurements. The tests demonstrated the sensor network, which allows the SnoMotes 

to self-deploy and efficiently reconfigure themselves based 

upon local conditions and detected areas of interest. Shown 

above are the Principal Investigator, Ayanna Howard (left), 

and team member Stephen Williams (right) with a SnoMote 

being readied for action. (Credit: Matt Heavner)

13

The idea of a ‘Sensor Web’ first surfaced within the NASA community in 1997 and the term has 

come to describe a network of sensors, or sensor pods, that have the ability to act as a whole and 

coordinate autonomously with each other and with the end user. The capability for synchronous 

effort by a disparate set of sensors will have a profound effect on future Earth science endeavors, 

exponentially increasing both the value of observations as well as the utility and lifespan of each 

sensor within a sensor web. 

In 2006, the AIST program issued a targeted solicitation focused on the architecture and building blocks needed for future autonomous sensor webs. 28 projects were awarded funding and the 

AIST program has actively engaged these investigators through a series of workshops in order to 

achieve consensus on sensor web architectural principals as well as to spur collaborations. 

Through these workshops a number of use case scenarios were developed – from atmospheric 

composition studies and forest fire identification to earthquake forecasting and water quality 

monitoring – that are directly applicable to nearly every NRC decadal survey measurement 

requirement. Three sensor web use themes also emerged across the use cases that form 

the basis for sensor web classification:

1) Autonomous Sensor Operations 

to enable rapid response, 

autonomous tasking, 

sensor management, 

and improved data transmission among sensors.

2) Autonomous Data Production for rapid data assimilation 

and ingestion and real-time 

forecasting and modelling.

3) User Support for better sensor scheduling, optimized mission 

design, and improved user access.

SPOTLIGHT: Progress Toward Sensor Webs

This artist’s depiction illustrates

 the interactions of linked 

instruments, models, data, and 

users within a sensor web.
2008 in Review: Lasers

The Laser Risk Reduction Program 

(LRRP) was established in 2001 by 

the NASA Administrator in response to 

recommendations by the Earth Science 

Independent Laser Review Panel. The 

LRRP has worked to formalize design, 

testing, and development procedures 

for durable laser/lidar systems and 

architectures, particularly in the critical 

One- and Two-micron wavelengths. 

Laser/lidar remote sensing techniques 

satisfy a variety of measurement and 

operational requirements:

 Earth Science: Clouds/

 Aerosols, Tropospheric 

 Winds, Ozone, Carbon 

 Dioxide, Biomass, Water

Vapor, Land, Ice, and Ocean, Surface 

Mapping, and Laser Altimetry

 Space Science: Surface 

 Materials, Physical State, 

 Surface Topography, 

 Molecular Species, and 

Atmospheric Composition / Dynamics

 

 Exploration: Lander Guid- 

 ance/Control, Atmospheric 

 Winds, Biochemical Identifi-

 cation, Optical Communication, and Automated Rendezvous & 

Docking

 

 Aeronautics: Turbulence 

 Detection, Wind Shear 

 Detection, and Wake 

 Vortices

In FY08, the LRRP funded several laser 

development projects at the NASA 

Langley Research Center.

14

Supported by years of materials and diode advances, twomicron laser systems are now evolving to well engineered, 

ruggedized, and packaged transmitters. The component 

shown above is a five diode partially conductively cooled 

laser head with heritage from several LRRP projects. This 

laser head is now part of the transmitter for the IIP Doppler 

Aerosol Wind Lidar (DAWN) project (see page 10).

15

2008 in Review: Components

The Advanced Component Technology (ACT) program leads research, development, and testing of 

component- and subsystem-level technologies to advance the state-of-the-art of instruments, Earthand space-based platforms, and information systems. The ACT program focuses on projects that 

reduce risk, cost, size, mass, and development time of technologies to enable their eventual infusion 

into missions.

In FY08, the ACT program portfolio held 18 active investments. More projects will be added in FY09 

through a competitive solicitation, released in May 2008, which highlighted four broad areas of 

interest for component technologies – active optical, passive optical, microwave, and calibration for 

radiation measurements. These areas have the potential for significant advancement in the technology 

readiness of the Earth science measurements recommended by the NRC decadal survey.

The ACT program graduated four projects in 

FY08, two of which advanced at least one TRL 

over their course of funding:

• Lightweight, Low Power, High Speed 

Digital Signal Distribution Technology 

for Thinned Aperture Radiometers

• Analog Radio-Frequency Interference 

Suppression System (ARFISS) for 

Microwave Radiometers

• Adaptive Self-Correcting Transmit / 

Receive module for Phase-Stable Array 

Antennas

• High-Power, Single-Frequency UV Laser 

Transmitter

Future Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) missions will require 

large, lightweight, high power, phase-stable, electronically-steerable L-band phasedarray antennas. A recently-completed, two-year ACT project at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory sought to 

develop a practical and low cost adaptive L-band Transmit / Receive (T/R) module, with an integrated 

calibrator, for use in ISAR antennas. Building upon T/R developments from a prior ACT task, the 

project team developed the first practical “smart T/R module” that provides stable output power at 

L-band and has ultra-stable phase and gain for interferometric ISAR applications. The project advanced 

two Technology Readiness Levels over the two years of funding. Above are two sides of the 30W 

Components

module: the T/R module (top) and the control board (bottom).

An LRRP-funded seeded pulsed 

transmitter was integrated into a firstever two micron direct detection DIAL 

measurement of Carbon Dioxide for a 

field experiment in West Branch, Iowa. 

At left, the 444.7 meter KWKB tower in 

West Branch provided an ideal platform 

for the instrument and the in-situ CO2

measurements were timed to coincide 

with NOAA aircraft overflights. This 

work could eventually provide a full-time 

ground validation instrument for satellite CO2 retrievals, such as those from 

NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory.

Lasers
Future Challenges

Active Remote Sensing Technologies to enable measurements of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere.

• Atmospheric chemistry using lidar vertical profiles

• Ice cap, glacier, sea ice, and snow characterization using radar and lidar

• Tropospheric vector winds using lidar

The National Research Council decadal survey – “Earth Science and Applications from Space: National 

Imperatives for the Next Decade and Beyond” – lays out a consensus vision and priorities for future 

Earth science endeavors and advises, among other strategies, that the cost risk of future missions be 

reduced by “investing early in the technological challenges.”

We recognize the importance of this statement. In fact, ESTO investments have, for several years, been 

buying down the risk of nearly all of the measurements recommended by the decadal survey. This is 

a testament to ESTO’s best practices for technology development: competitive, peer-reviewed solicitations; active technology management; and broad-based, inclusive strategic planning. ESTO continues to 

monitor and match investments to the evolving needs of the Earth science community.

In addition to established technology goals, we have identified four areas that will serve a multitude of 

science disciplines:

16

Large Deployable Apertures to enable future weather, climate, and natural

hazards measurements.

• Temperature, water vapor, and precipitation from geostationary orbit

• Soil moisture and sea surface salinity using L-band

• Surface deformation and vegetation using radar

Intelligent Distributed Systems using advanced communication, on-board 

radiation-tolerant reprogrammable processors, autonomous operations and 

network control, data compression, high density storage.

• Long-term weather prediction linking observations to numerical models

• Interconnected sensor webs that share information to enhance observations

Information Knowledge Capture through novel visualizations, memory and 

storage advances, and seamlessly linked models. 

• Intelligent data fusion to merge multi-mission data

• Discovery tools to extract knowledge from large and complex data sets

• Real time science processing, archiving, and distribution of user products to 

drive decision support systems

Additional Resources

17

A wealth of additional materials is available online at the 

ESTO home page – http://esto.nasa.gov – including:

Information 

about ESTO 

solicitations and 

awards

More about the 

ESTO approach 

to technology 

development, 

ESTO programs, 

and strategic 

planning

Abstracts and 

papers and from 

the 2008 NASA 

Earth Science 

Technology 

Conference 

(ESTC2008) as 

well as from 

previous ESTO 

conferences

A fully searchable database 

of ESTO investments

An active, regularly updated area for 

news items and announcements
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Earth Science Technology Office

Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 407.0

Greenbelt, MD 20771

www.esto.nasa.gov

www.nasa.gov