The Airborne Multiangle Aerosol Size Spectrometer: A next generation aerosol probe

Atmospheric aerosolimpairefforts to retrieve information regarding the Earths surface, including oceansand have important impacts on climate and air quality. Airborne measurements of aerosol size are critical to understanding physical drivers over time and space, and to validate satellite and other remotely sensed observations. The current state of the art instrument for measuring aerosol size on aircraft is now almost 50 years old, difficult to maintain, and at risk of causing gaps in this vital measurement.We propose development of a next-generation aerosol probe that realizes a modernized implementation of integrated side scattering for accuratesizing ofsubmicron particles.The project goal is to provide anaircraft-ready, life-cycle supportedinstrument capable of serving aerosol measurement requirements for the next decade, integrating modern flow control, electronics,and data processing/output capabilities. Atmospheric aerosol impair efforts to retrieve information regarding the Earth’s surface, including oceans and have important impacts on climate and air quality. Airborne measurements of aerosol size are critical to understanding physical drivers over time and space, and to validate satellite and other remotely sensed observations. The current state of the art instrument for measuring aerosol size on aircraft is now almost 50 years old, difficult to maintain, and at risk of causing gaps in this vital measurement. We propose development of a next-generation aerosol probe that realizes a modernized implementation of integrated side scattering for accurate sizing of submicron particles. The project goal is to provide an aircraft-ready, life-cycle supported instrument capable of serving aerosol measurement requirements for the next decade, integrating modern flow control, electronics, and data processing/output capabilities. The objectives of our Phase II work are: 1.    Development of the integrated scattering measurement optical system  2.    Design, model, and fabricate improved aerosol nozzle 3.    Design, model, and fabricate probe inlet system 4.    Electronics system development 5.    Data acquisition and display software development 6.    Design, model, and build aircraft prototype instrument 7.    Laboratory evaluation and environmental testing These objectives all contribute to the overall Phase II goal of developing a flight-ready prototype of our next-generation aerosol spectrometer. At the end of the Phase II project, we plan to deliver a prototype aerosol probe to NASA which will be compatible with standard hardware and electrical interfaces used in airborne atmospheric science.    

The airborne probe would be core measurement instrumentation for suborbital aircraft campaigns examining air quality, climate, and aircraft emissions, and satellite validation. Specific missions with relevance include PACE Satellite mission (ocean biology, aerosols, clouds), the upcoming ACCP Mission (aerosols, clouds, convection, precipitation), TEMPO (geostationary air quality observations), and CAMP2Ex (tropical meteorology and aerosol science). A next-generation aerosol sizing probe would be a core component on research aircraft operated by other US and non-US agencies, including DOE, NCAR, NOAA, DLR (Germany), FAAM (UK), and SAFIRE (France). The optical technology at the core of the probe could be adapted for ground/laboratory use, opening more applications: air quality monitoring, clean room monitoring, and academic aerosol research.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 4) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.

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