Smart Ice Cloud Sensing (SMICES): An Overview of its Submillimeter Wave Radiometer

The Smart Ice Cloud Sensing (SMICES) is an active/passive sensor. SMICES is sponsored by NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) under Instrument Incubator Program 19 (IIP-19) awarded to Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC) and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The instrument is designed to measure upper tropospheric and lower stratospheric cloud ice and water vapor. SMICES uses a suite of passive radiometers that are constantly conically scanning to locate ice clouds. The ice clouds are located using an artificial intelligence controller that identifies key labels related to the ice cloud. Once an ice cloud is identified, the artificial intelligence controller activates and targets the on-board radar. While the SMICES instrument is currently being developed for an airborne demonstration, the final goal is to deploy it as a small satellite (SmallSat) instrument in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The onboard AI controller will significantly reduce DC power consumption of the satellite mission. This will enable the SMICES system to be hosted on a smaller platform with fewer solar cells and significantly drive down mission costs while maintaining the quality of scientific data. This work presents the latest development on the SMICES microwave radiometer.