Description: Los Gatos Research (LGR) proposes to develop highly-accurate, lightweight, low-power gas analyzers for measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor (H2O) aboard NASAs Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft (SIERRA) unmanned aerial system (UAS). These analyzers, which will exploit both conventional mid and near-infrared tunable diode laser spectrometry and LGR's patented Off-Axis ICOS technology, will be capable of meeting the stringent weight, power, and environmental requirements for UAS deployments. At the conclusion of the Phase II effort, LGR will deliver and deploy two complete systems. The first analyzer will make extremely rapid (> 20 Hz) airborne eddy flux covariance measurements of CO2 and H2O. The second instrument will measure CO2 isotopes aboard SIERRA, allowing a better understanding of the chemistry, transport, and exchange of carbon between the atmosphere, anthropogenic sources, and natural carbon sinks and sources in the terrestrial biosphere. Airborne measurements enable regional-scale investigations of carbon sources and sinks as well as measurements where conventional tower flux deployments are infeasible. These data will 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.

Benefits: The NASA Earth Science Division is primarily concerned with studying how the global environment is changing and how such changes affect human civilization. The majority of these observations involve using satellite 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 satellite data with better accuracy, faster time response, and higher spatial resolution, NASA seeks to develop innovative in situ sensors for these important gases. Moreover, in an effort to make such deployments more numerous, efficient, and cost-effective, these analyzers need to be highly accurate and deployable on unmanned aerial systems (UASs) and other small aircraft. The objective of this SBIR program is to develop and deliver atmospheric gas analyzers that are suitable for such platforms.

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 environmental research laboratories, industrial process control monitoring, and military applications. The proposed work is essential in making these instruments more compact, rugged, and cost competitive, and will thus enlarge the potential market size significantly.