1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:05,720 [Music] 2 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:10,960 [Volcano rumbling] 3 00:00:12,880 --> 00:00:15,940 >>The world's a very changing place, and the onus 4 00:00:15,949 --> 00:00:20,250 is on us to make sure that we're preserving the planet as we move forward. 5 00:00:20,250 --> 00:00:24,830 We want to make sure that we're using our technologies to understand processes on the 6 00:00:24,830 --> 00:00:28,320 planet that are rapidly changing. 7 00:00:30,580 --> 00:00:35,120 >>HyspIRI is a proposed Earth-orbiting mission which will look at different Earth ecosystems, 8 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:36,800 including reefs and volcanoes. 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:41,660 The first part is, you build an instrument, you get it tested in a lab, make sure it all 10 00:00:41,670 --> 00:00:46,730 works, then you put it in an airplane, ultimately to prove out that this concept is worthy of 11 00:00:46,730 --> 00:00:47,880 being on a satellite mission. 12 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,579 >>If we can get as close to space as possible, that's the best way to simulate a satellite 13 00:00:52,580 --> 00:00:54,540 and its data. 14 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,540 [Music] 15 00:01:10,960 --> 00:01:15,080 [Background noise] 16 00:01:19,260 --> 00:01:22,020 [Air hissing] 17 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,860 >>We have the AVIRIS instrument, the Airborne Visible 18 00:01:26,869 --> 00:01:31,749 Infrared Imaging Spectrometer, and we also have the MASTER, which is the MODIS-ASTER 19 00:01:31,749 --> 00:01:33,090 Simulator. 20 00:01:33,090 --> 00:01:38,560 The AVIRIS instrument is measuring the solar-reflected spectrum, so the light that's coming down 21 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:43,229 from the sun, hitting the surface of the earth or the surface of the water, and then bouncing 22 00:01:43,229 --> 00:01:48,999 back up, and then the MASTER instrument is actually measuring emitted heat, or thermal 23 00:01:48,999 --> 00:01:50,159 infrared data. 24 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:55,820 The two data sets together simulate the HyspIRI satellite payload. 25 00:01:59,140 --> 00:02:01,140 [Music] 26 00:02:01,780 --> 00:02:08,600 >>What we're doing in Hawaii is studying the volcanoes and the coral reefs around the islands. 27 00:02:11,980 --> 00:02:13,980 [Water bubbling] 28 00:02:16,640 --> 00:02:21,400 >>They say that all kids are interested in volcanoes and dinosaurs, so I guess in some respects, 29 00:02:21,409 --> 00:02:23,360 I never really grew up. 30 00:02:23,360 --> 00:02:26,810 What appeals to me about them now, is it's one phenomenon that has almost an immediate 31 00:02:26,810 --> 00:02:32,390 impact on the people living nearby the volcanoes, it has an impact on the environment, both 32 00:02:32,390 --> 00:02:33,599 on a regional and global scale. 33 00:02:33,599 --> 00:02:38,180 The lessons we learn here with our aircraft mission, with our processing the data with 34 00:02:38,180 --> 00:02:42,920 our ground measurements will all be used to develop techniques so we'll be ready for the 35 00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:47,370 launch of the HyspIRI mission, and as soon as the data hits the ground we can then put 36 00:02:47,370 --> 00:02:51,440 it into the models and improve forecasts from day one essentially. 37 00:02:54,090 --> 00:02:55,620 >>Coral reefs are important ecosystems. 38 00:02:55,629 --> 00:03:00,879 In terms of biodiversity they represent the most biodiverse ecosystem within the ocean. 39 00:03:00,879 --> 00:03:05,140 By comparison, they are very similar to what we know about rainforests on land. 40 00:03:05,140 --> 00:03:09,060 In fact, many people refer to them as rainforests of the sea. 41 00:03:09,060 --> 00:03:14,700 We need to know how these important ecosystems respond to climate and population now, before 42 00:03:14,700 --> 00:03:16,170 it becomes too late. 43 00:03:16,170 --> 00:03:20,030 The ER-2 is able to fly at 65,000 feet. 44 00:03:20,030 --> 00:03:22,490 That's above 99% of the Earth's atmosphere. 45 00:03:22,490 --> 00:03:28,439 It can easily collect data that we think would be useful and built in to a future satellite 46 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:30,080 sensor. 47 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:34,200 [Background airfield noise] 48 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,140 >>This morning, we're ready for takeoff at about 8:45. 49 00:03:39,150 --> 00:03:45,379 The plan is to fly over the Big Island, over the volcanoes, and then on the way back, fly 50 00:03:45,379 --> 00:03:48,329 a coral reef line over Molokai. 51 00:03:48,329 --> 00:03:52,230 There's people in the field at the volcanoes and coral reefs so they'll be taking measurements 52 00:03:52,230 --> 00:03:56,660 on the ground to correlate the data obtained from the ER-2 airplane. 53 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:02,360 [Background airfield noise] 54 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:08,660 >>Typical morning, we'll start out prepping the aircraft, installing panels, setting fuel 55 00:04:08,670 --> 00:04:12,989 counters, installing the experimenters' instruments. 56 00:04:12,989 --> 00:04:18,209 >>We check out the autopilot, the radios, some of the warning systems in the airplane, the 57 00:04:18,209 --> 00:04:23,420 navigation systems, and then we get it ready for the mobile pilot to show up. 58 00:04:24,790 --> 00:04:29,440 >>The ER-2 is a very unique aircraft, we can get a very wide swath with these super high-tech 59 00:04:29,440 --> 00:04:32,680 instruments, a lot of which are going to end up on satellites, we're kind of the last step 60 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:38,560 in development on some of our Earth science satellites, where we actually take it up to 61 00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,470 extreme altitudes and cold soak it, and put it in an extreme environment, because once 62 00:04:42,470 --> 00:04:44,840 we launch it into space, there's no repairing. 63 00:04:46,780 --> 00:04:50,680 It might be kind of strange seeing another pilot set up the airplane for the pilot actually 64 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,449 flying, but we fly so high that there are a lot of special considerations we have for 65 00:04:54,449 --> 00:04:55,449 flying. 66 00:04:55,449 --> 00:04:58,341 The hardest thing is we have to wear a space suit when we fly, a full pressure suit, so 67 00:04:58,341 --> 00:05:01,250 Dean's in there starting to get dressed in his pressure suit right now, once he's in 68 00:05:01,250 --> 00:05:05,020 that suit, he can't do a whole lot of moving, because he gets too warm and the heat builds 69 00:05:05,020 --> 00:05:09,020 up, so he has technicians getting him dressed, they'll drive him out here, they'll walk him 70 00:05:09,020 --> 00:05:11,840 up to the airplane, and he'll hop in. 71 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:16,340 This will all be set up basically for engine start and takeoff. 72 00:05:18,500 --> 00:05:23,960 >>When he taxis out, we follow right behind him, and he'll taxi onto the runway, where 73 00:05:23,961 --> 00:05:25,430 he will prepare to launch. 74 00:05:25,430 --> 00:05:31,600 Then we get out to the aircraft, remove pogo blocks, do final checks on the aircraft, remove 75 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:37,180 our emergency start system pin, safety gear, clear the aircraft, and then as soon as he 76 00:05:37,180 --> 00:05:42,300 takes off, we'll follow behind in the truck to recover our pogos. 77 00:05:45,500 --> 00:05:50,460 [ER-2 taking off] 78 00:05:51,940 --> 00:05:54,700 >>I've been working aircraft a long time. 79 00:05:54,710 --> 00:05:57,470 This aircraft is different in a lot of respects. 80 00:05:57,470 --> 00:05:58,470 It's something unique.