THE ADVANCED ULTRA-HIGH RESOLUTION OPTICAL AND RADIOFREQUENCY (AURORA) PATHFINDER

A. Gambacorta¹, M. Fritts¹, B. Bulcha¹, F. Gambini^2,1, N. Shahroudi^3,1, P. Stegmann^3,1, A. Kotsakis^3,1, S. Nicholls^4,1, V. Torres¹, P. Mohammed^5,1, E. Leong¹, M. Coon¹, Satya Kalluri⁶, M. Stephen^7,1

¹NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, ²European Space Agency, ³University of Maryland College Park, ⁴Science and Technology Corporation, ⁵Morgan State University, ⁶NOAA, ⁷University of Maryland Baltimore County

This paper provides an overview of the Advanced Ultra-high Resolution Optical Radiometer (AURORA) Pathfinder, a project awarded in 2024 and led by NASA GSFC in collaboration with academia and private industry partners.

AURORA Pathfinder aims to advance Photonic Integrated Circuit (PIC) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) technologies in space. It is the first steppingstone towards enabling contiguous and hyperspectral measurements of the full Earth’s thermal microwave radiation spectrum from space. AURORA Pathfinder will measure the Earth’s thermal microwave spectrum in the 100-200 GHz range, which contains critical information in the Earth’s surface and atmospheric Planetary Boundary Layer, as well as atmospheric temperature, water vapor and hydrometeors. AURORA’s enhanced spectral coverage and resolution will significantly improve information retrieval regarding PBL thermodynamic structure and free tropospheric conditions.

This presentation will provide an overview of the mission science objectives, instrument design and trade studies. We will explore novel developments in hyperspectral microwave radiative transfer and inversion techniques aimed at mitigating computational challenges in data assimilation (e.g., spectral thinning) and uncertainties hindering retrieval performance (e.g., surface emissivity, water vapor continuum spectroscopy, geophysical constraints, radiative transfer uncertainties, etc.).

Additionally, we will present results from the 2024 West-Coast and Heartland Hyperspectral Microwave Sensor Intensive Experiment (WH2yMSIE). WH2yMSIE performed first airborne hyperspectral microwave measurements using the Conical Scanning Millimeter-wave Imaging Radiometer Hyperspectral (CoSMIR-H) sensor and served as a preliminary tech demo for AURORA Pathfinder. Observation Sensitivity Experiments (OSE) will be presented, focusing on factors impacting the performance of temperature, water vapor, and hydrometeor retrievals, such as spectral coverage and resolution, viewing geometry, noise levels, scene dis-homogeneity and radiative transfer accuracy. Intercomparisons with operational sensors from the Program of Record (e.g., AWS, ATMS, AMSU/MHS) will be presented as well along with data fusion techniques with active sensors.

This presentation will conclude with a few recommendations intended to inform future microwave sounding technology developments endorsed by space and meteorological agencies.