New technologies to support NASA's Mission to Planet Earth satellite remote sensing product validation: use of an unmanned autopiloted vehicle (UAV) as a platform to conduct remote sensing

As part of the US Global Change program, NASA has initiated its Mission to Planet Earth Program (MTPE) which requires continuous global satellite measurements over an extended 15 years period. Various US and International Earth Observing Satellites will be launched during this period. To ensure continuity of the measurements, a significant instrument calibration and product validation effort is required and is planned as part of this program. However, the validation of satellite products requires extensive ground truthing which is both costly and time consuming and in many cases limited to specific calibration/validation areas. Thus there is a need to extend this validation effort to include more participants and provide new, more cost effective technologies to support the validation effort. The use of unmanned autopiloted vehicles (UAV) and new miniature high performance instruments have been identified as providing this needed additional capability. This paper discusses the development of a UAV, associated avionics and preliminary remote sensing instruments to support the extension of ground truthing and product validation of NASA's MTPE Programs, specifically, earth observing system. The UAV being described is based on thrust vectoring capabilities and a single-axis pivoted wing or 'freewing' design. This unique UAV system is illustrated along with the proposed autonomous avionics and preliminary remote sensing payloads.