ROSES-05      Advanced Information Systems Technology Program

 

1.     Scope of Program

 

1.1       Introduction

 

The Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) manages the development of advanced technologies and applications that are needed for cost-effective missions.  The ESTO plays a major role in shaping Earth Science Division (ESD) research and application programs of the future, aggressively pursuing promising scientific and engineering concepts, and ensuring that the program maintains an effective balance of investments in order to advance technology development.

 

Information technology advances play a critical role in collecting, handling, and managing very large amounts of data and information in space and on the ground.  The objectives of the Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST) Program are to identify, develop, and (where appropriate) demonstrate advanced information system technologies that:

 

-      Enable new observation measurements and information products;

-      Increase the accessibility and utility of science data; and

-      Reduce the risk, cost, size, and development time for ESD space-based and ground-based information systems.

 

The AIST Program is designed to bring information system technologies to a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) (https://esto.nasa.gov/AIST-ROSES) that allows integration into existing or future technology/science research and development programs, or infusion into existing or planned subsystems/systems to enable timely and affordable delivery of information to users.  The TRL scale is used to assess the maturity of a particular technology.  The AIST Program accepts technology developments at various stages of maturity and advances the TRL through appropriate risk reduction activities such as requirements analysis, conceptual design, prototypes and proof-of-concept demonstrations.

 

1.2       Background and Solicitation Justification

 

In testimony to Congress in May 2005, NASA Administrator Dr. Mike Griffin included the following statement:

 

ÒIn the future, NASA plans to develop a Òsensor webÓ to provide timely, on-demand data and analysis to users who can enable practical benefits for scientific research, national policymaking, economic growth, natural hazard mitigation, and the exploration of other planets in this solar system and beyond.Ó

 

This followed the release of the February 2005 publication NASA's Direction 2005 & Beyond that stated:

 

ÒNASA will develop new space-based technology to monitor the major interactions of the land, oceans, atmosphere, ice, and life that comprise the Earth system. In the years ahead, NASAÕs fleet will evolve into human-made constellations of smart satellites that can be reconfigured based on the changing needs of science and technology. From there, researchers envision an intelligent and integrated observation network comprised of sensors deployed to vantage points from the EarthÕs subsurface to deep space. This Òsensor webÓ will provide timely, on-demand data and analysis to users who can enable practical benefits for scientific research, national policymaking, economic growth, natural hazard mitigation, and the exploration of other planets in this solar system and beyond.Ó

 

The ESTO AIST program is focusing this solicitation on component technologies that will enable the agency to pursue sensor webs as a way to achieve its Earth science objectives in the future.

 

1.2.1      Concepts and Terminology

 

ESTO studies addressing sensor web concepts can be found at the ESTO web site (https://esto.nasa.gov/AIST-ROSES)A Notional Sensor Web Concept / JPL, IS Technologies for a Hazard Monitoring and Mitigation System Using Sensor Webs / Draper Labs, and IS Technologies for 5-day Weather Forecasting Using Sensor Webs / GSFC. The following terms are offered to describe the concepts encompassed by the proposed sensor web approaches:

 

The goal of the sensor web approach is to employ new data acquisition strategies and systems for integrated Earth sensing that are responsive to environmental events for both application and scientific purposes. Sensor webs can achieve science objectives beyond the abilities of a single platform by:

 

The management of sensor webs involves the following functional areas:

-      Workflow management – to plan, monitor and control resources

-      Resource management – to allocate sensors, processing streams, models

-      Situation awareness – to detect and/or predict events

-      Information management – to transform and exchange data.

 

Figure 1 depicts an example of a basic sensor web in a system of systems configuration. The major systems within the sensor web include:

                                                 Figure 1. Basic Sensor Web Concept

 

The other major systems interacting with the sensor web address: