NASA ESTO: Preparing the Future of Earth Science Observation Technology

NASA's Earth-Sun System Technology Office (ESTO) is investing in passive remote sensing technologies that will provide revolutionary advances in our knowledge of the Earth system. We will focus specifically on two Instrument Incubator Program (IIP) projects, the Far-Infrared Spectroscopy of the Troposphere (FIRST) instrument already developed and the In-situ Net Flux within the Atmosphere of the Earth (INFLAME) instruments presently in development. Both of these sensors provide measurements of the Earth's radiation balance presently not available in any other sensors. ESTO is also investing in detector technologies for future Earth science missions through the Far-Infrared Detector Technology Advancement Partnership (FIDTAP), a joint effort concurrently supported by NASA Langley and DRS Technologies, Inc. These sensors and technologies will position NASA to implement missions spelled out in the recent National Research Council's Decadal Survey for Earth Sciences.