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Goddard and Northrop Grumman Partner To Answer Key Questions in Climate Change and Planetary Science

Answering bold questions about life and climate on Earth and other planets is the goal behind a new Space Act Agreement (SAA) between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Northrop Grumman's Electronic Systems* sector. Through the agreement, researchers from the two Maryland-based organizations will collaborate on the development of advanced civil radar system architectures that can be leveraged into new space-based remote sensing instruments with revolutionary performance characteristics. These systems will help scientists measure with far greater accuracy, precision, and detail such things as three-dimensional (3D) characteristics of Mars and other planets, as well as cloud composition and other characteristics on Earth, to better understand climate change.

Benefits of Technology Transfer

  • A new class of planetary measurements will enable scientists to better understand the history and habitability of Mars and other planets.

  • Remote sensing of environmental change from space will have huge implications for Earth science and our understanding of global warming and the carbon cycle.

  • The partnership will enable NASA to conduct more exploration with less of its own investment.

  • NASA will benefit from significant expansion of its instrument development programs with new hardware capabilities.

  • Northrop Grumman will be able to leverage its mature radar technology developed for Department of Defense applications into a valuable scientific tool that will benefit emerging science needs.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation* is a $32 billion global defense and technology company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in information and services, electronics, aerospace and shipbuilding to government and commercial customers worldwide. The company's Maryland-based Electronics Systems sector will participate in this agreement.

Combining Technology and Expertise

The collaborative agreement brings together the best of Northrop Grumman’s radar technology and Goddard’s scientific expertise. The technology to be used includes Northrop Grumman’s space-qualified electronically scanned arrays, wideband electronics, and lightweight mesh antenna technology. This will be combined with Goddard’s remote sensing expertise, testing facilities, and insight into applications that would help scientists answer key space and Earth science questions. Specific topics that may be more closely studied as a result of this technology include:

  • Observing our planetary neighbors to improve our understanding of the evolutionary processes of Earth

  • Understanding the climate change that Mars experienced as it relates to the possibility of life on that planet

  • Understanding the history of oceans and resurfacing on Venus as a way to understand whether it may have ever been habitable

  • Ascertaining the structure of possible oceans on icy moons, such as Jupiter’s Europa

  • Characterizing in 3D the global lunar soil cover where resources are located

  • Evaluating the Earth’s climate system and how it is evolving

  • Understanding the carbon cycle via distribution of above-ground biomass

  • More thoroughly understanding Earth’s water cycle

  • Monitoring changes in the Earth’s ice cover at the margins of the planet’s largest ice sheets

The current state of the art for remote sensing of planetary and Earth science measurements is large, uses a tremendous amount of power, and is expensive to fly on space missions. By combining the best in space-qualified radar and expertise, researchers at Northrop Grumman and Goddard plan to demonstrate the feasibility of a smaller, lighter, less costly radar system for science and exploration initiatives. In short, such a system would enable scientists to measure what is currently inaccessible. Such observations include aspects of the carbon and water cycles on Earth, the nature of Martian water and ice reservoirs in 3D, and the surface of Venus (and history of its ancient oceans) at never-before-possible scales.

The Transfer Process

Representatives from Northrop Grumman contacted Goddard in 2002 to begin discussions about a potential collaboration. Exploratory meetings were conduced over the following few years. Goddard’s Innovative Partnerships Program (IPP) Office worked as liaison between the technical and legal organizations at Goddard beginning in 2006 in order to draft a more formal cooperation agreement to address shared technology developments and demonstrations.

Looking Ahead

With an agreement in place, researchers have begun their collaborative work. Northrop Grumman is gathering its advanced microwave/millimeter-wave technologies and radar system architectures for evaluation and testing. Meanwhile, Goddard researchers will test the technology and the planned demonstration radar system. Goddard’s expertise in key technical areas will also be used to further develop Northrop Grumman’s technologies to meet the requirements for space-qualified, advanced remote sensing.

Contact

Innovative Partnerships Program Office
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Phone: (301) 286-5810
E-mail: techtransfer@gsfc.nasa.gov

(2008)

Northrum Grumman partnership signing image


On the Record

"We are bringing together two of Maryland's biggest employers for a project that has major implications for NASA and our understanding of Earth and the solar system in which we live."
—Dr. Edward Weiler, Director, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 

"This is a strategic partnership that blends the best of Goddard's and Northrop Grumman's advanced sensing capabilities. Our goal is to expand NASA's instrument technologies, while advancing new and innovative space-based mission concepts capable of making critical science observations in support of NASA goals."
—Dr. Laurie Leshin, Goddard's Deputy Director of Science and Technology 

"Through this partnership, we can further develop and adapt our strong radar technologies to meet a variety of Earth and planetary science needs. By pursuing joint research and development, Northrop Grumman and Goddard will also be able to explore new climate-related opportunities that arise."
—Joseph J. Ensor, Vice President and General Manager, Northrop Grumman's Space & ISR Systems Division 

"The compact, agile, and scientifically versatile technology that this agreement will produce can help us achieve entirely new, ultra-high resolution measurements of the surfaces and shallow interiors of not only Mars but also of icy satellites, asteroids, Venus, and Mercury, in a cost-effective fashion."
—Dr. James Garvin, Chief Scientist, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 

"The current state of the art for measuring carbon biomass in forests involves measuring tree-trunk diameters with tape measures. Since forests are huge, we obviously have a sampling problem. If instead we could use an advanced radar system to measure this from space, it would greatly improve our ability to measure the changes in forest carbon biomass as the climate changes."
—Dr. Peter Hildebrand, Deputy Director, Sciences and Exploration Directorate, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center 

“The IPP Office’s Darryl Mitchell was critical in conveying information about the various partnering options, which ultimately led us down the path of the Space Act Agreement. We greatly appreciate the support of Darryl and the IPP Office, without which, we would still be struggling to implement a partnership.”
—Catherine Long