Dynamic Targeting to Improve Earth Science Missions

Dynamic targeting (DT) is an emerging concept in which data from a lookahead instrument are used to intelligently reconfigure and point a primary instrument to enhance science return. For example, in the smart ice hunting radar (Smart Ice Cloud Sensing project), a forward-looking radiometer is used to detect deep convective ice storms, which are then targeted using a radar. In other concepts, forward-looking sensors are used to detect clouds so that a primary sensor can avoid them. To this end, we have developed several algorithms from operations research and an artificial intelligence/heuristic search to point/reconfigure the dynamic instrument. We present simulation studies of DT for these concepts and benchmark these algorithms to show that DT is a powerful tool with the potential to significantly improve instrument science yield.