Software Development and System Modernization for Research Scanning Polarimeter Tools

Presenter: Natalie Suriel (NASA/GISS intern)

The NASA GISS airborne Research Scanning Polarimeter (RSP) is a state-of-the-art instrument which has been flying on a variety of NASA and non-NASA aircraft for nearly 20 years. RSP measures polarization to obtain the size, refractive index and shape of aerosol and cloud particles. We have developed a robust JavaScript interface, RSP Live Monitor (LiMo), to monitor the instrument’s performance and data collection in-flight via a computer. Enhancements to LiMo resulted in better software performance and user experience for scientist in-flight by providing them a way to see all data provided by RSP. LiMo was utilized for the first time in-flight on CAMP2EX mission. LiMo assisted scientists onboard a P-3 airplane during the CAMP2EX mission in the Philippines by monitoring the RSP, flight trajectory and data accuracy. The software for LiMo was written generically to ensure the code was reusable for future applications. In order to share data from RSP missions with fellow scientist and the public, we leveraged the generically written code to create a new interface that allows RSP data to also be browsed in a non-flight setting. The web viewer will continue to support scientists by allowing them to view and explore data collected during any RSP related mission.