2008 Annual Report - NASA Airborne Science Program

Figure 7
ACCLAIM instrument on the Lear-25 (left), as it flew in
October 2007.
Passive Active L-band System (PALS)
SMAPVEX08 included the JPL/NASA Passive
Active L-band System (PALS), a time shared
radiometer and radar instrument. For
SMAPVEX08, PALS was installed on a NASA
contracted aircraft (Twin Otter- deHavilland
DHC-6 aircraft) along with three additional
radiometer back ends, a University of
Michigan Agile Digital Detector, a University
of Iowa L-Band Interference Suppressing
Radiometer, and the NASA GSFC Analog
Double Detector.
PALS successfully completed 12 data
flight hours over Ames, Iowa and 37 data
flight hours over Maryland’s Choptank soil
moisture project site area. In addition, PALS
and the three radiometer back ends collected
15 dedicated RFI flights data hours around
the Washington area, and 24 transit hours of
RFI data.
Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer
(AVIRIS)
The Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging
Spectrometer (AVIRIS) flew on the Twin
Otter for low altitude/high spatial resolution
flights in Hawaii in January. From June
through August, it flew on the NASA ER-2
for high altitude/high spatial resolution to
cover sites in the Western U.S. and Canada,
and out of Westover AFB, MA, to cover the
central and eastern U.S. and Canada (see p.
63). It then went back on the Twin Otter in
September to cover sites in Southern and
Central California.
Finally, an opportunity arose in late October
to image an algal bloom in Monterey Bay,
California. The NASA ER-2 team, without
any prior notice or planning, was able
to mount the AVIRIS and MASTER on
board the aircraft, and within a week, able
to successfully collect data. This special
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