HySICS

Home

HySICS

HyperSpectral Imager for Climate Science Project

Balloons that measured Earth-reflected radiation

The HyperSpectral Imager for Climate Science (HySICS) Instrument Incubator Project consisted of two scientific balloon launches carrying a spectrometer capable of measuring outgoing Earth-reflected radiation with unprecedented accuracy relative to the incident sunlight. Carried in a LASP-built gondola, the two experiments flew successfully on high altitude balloons along with NASA Wallops Flight Facility Wallops Arc Second Pointers in September 2013 and August 2014.

Mission Class:

Suborbitals

Mission Status:

Past

LASP Roles:

Research, Instruments, Data, Lead Institute

Science Target:

Earth's Atmosphere

Mission Focus:

Climate, Earth's Atmosphere, Radiation Budget, Solar Irradiance, Solar Physics

Launched: September 29, 2013 and August 18, 2014

Lead Institution: LASP

Lead Funding Agency: NASA Earth Science Technology Office

The scientific goal of HySICS was to acquire extremely accurate radiometric measurements of Earth relative to the incident sunlight. HySICS builds on LASP’s heritage of solar radiometry expertise to help us understand climate change on the Earth.

The instrument flew on a high-altitude balloon to an altitude of 123,000 feet, above most of the Earth’s atmosphere. Scientists use measurements of outgoing shortwave radiance, or the amount of sunlight scattered from Earth’s surface and atmosphere and reflected back toward space, as one of the key metrics for studying our planet’s dynamic climate. Watching these radiances over time helps researchers monitor and better understand the causes of environmental changes and global warming.

The instrument’s spectral range, spanning 350 to 2300 nm in wavelength, is critical as it covers most of the sun’s emitted energy. The high-accuracy data HySICS collects could give insight into how much of the sun’s radiative energy is reflected by the Earth’s surface and atmosphere, an important component for climate research