Mobile Greenhouse Gas Flux Analyzer for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

In this SBIR Phase I effort, Los Gatos Research (LGR) proposes to develop a highly-accurate, lightweight, low-power gas analyzer for eddy flux covariance measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) aboard unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This analyzer will be the first sensor capable of meeting the stringent speed, weight, power, and environmental requirements for unmanned airborne flux measurements. Airborne eddy flux covariance measurements enable regional-scale investigations of carbon sources and sinks as well as measurements in areas where conventional tower flux deployments are infeasible. These data complement current satellite observations by providing higher horizontal resolution and vertical profiling, enabling better quantification of carbon sources and sinks. Such deployments are critically important to NASA's Earth Science Division, because they enable more efficient and cost-effective Earth observations.

Besides its application to NASA, a compact, ultrasensitive gas analyzer also has significant commercial application. Through a series of strategic partnerships, LGR is developing a suite of analytical sensors to measure trace gases for industrial process control monitoring and scientific instrumentation. The proposed work is essential in making these instruments more compact, rugged, and cost competitive, and will thus enlarge the potential market size significantly.

The NASA Earth Science Division is primarily concerned with studying how the global environment is changing and how these changes effect human civilization. The majority of these observations involve using satellite, LIDAR data to make measurements of key atmospheric species on the planetary scale. Such observations are critical in quantifying the ozone cycle, greenhouse emissions, the hydrological cycle, and aerosol formation (and the resulting radiative forcing). In order to verify and complement these data with higher accuracy, faster time response, and better spatial resolution, NASA seeks to develop innovative in situ sensors for these important gases. Moreover, in an effort to make such in situ deployments more numerous, efficient, and cost-effective, the Earth Science Division seeks highly-accurate analyzers that can be integrated into unmanned aerial vehicles and other small aircraft to provide data for further climate modeling.

This is early/mid-stage (TRL 6) — 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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