This federal contract award, NNX16AK36G, was issued by the Shared Services Center, a civilian agency, to the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). The $1,132,157.91 grant supports the Development and Applications of the Air-HARP Imaging Polarimeter in Preparation for the ACE Mission.
The effort involves adapting a spare Hyper-Angular Rainbow Polarimeter (HARP) CubeSat sensor to create the Air-HARP instrument for NASA's ER-2 research aircraft. This will enable independent data collection or coordinated observations with the HARP satellite. The project also includes further development of the HARP Level 2 algorithm, using the GRASP software for aerosol property inversion and the Cloud-Pro algorithm for cloud droplet size inversion. The long-term goal is to simultaneously fly the shortwave infrared and visible/near-infrared polarimeter instruments to produce comprehensive geophysical data on aerosols and clouds.
UMBC, as a subunit of the University System of Maryland, has a history of providing research, measurement, and analytical services to support NASA's Earth science, astrophysics, and technology programs through prime and subcontract awards.