Watching the atmosphere

��Vlog��ý Little Rock — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 13:31:48 +0000

For several years, researchers have focused on the prevalence of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Currently, major satellites such as the NASA/NOAA Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Program indirectly monitor atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases like water vapor, methane, oxygen, ozone, and oxides. However, scientists are still finding ways to refine such monitoring. Dr. Yupo Chan from the Department of Systems Engineering, along with Dr. Edmond Wilson of Harding University and Dr. Po-Hao Huang at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, is leading the effort to develop a small, cost-effective way to observe atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases, including in the state of Arkansas. The research team is developing the SAMSAT measuring satellite, a 6U CubeSat that will be launched into orbit by NASA to gather atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases. SAMSAT stands for “solar and atmospheric measuring satellite.” The “6U” part of the title means that it is six times larger than a 1U satellite, which was a cube sized at 10 centimeters, similar to the size of a peanut butter jar. CubeSats have been used by NASA and many other organizations for various research purposes in space, but this research team is designing its own unique functions for the satellite to improve its mobility and data collection mechanisms. Chan, Wilson, and Huang are part of the Arkansas Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCOR), a NASA program designed to provide seed funding for aerospace research in Arkansas. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is the lead institution in this EPSCOR project. At Harding University, Wilson is responsible for measuring the gases in the atmosphere using spectrometry, a technique that shows how gases absorb light. At ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, Chan is responsible for downloading the signals from both the NOAA/NASA GOES satellite and the SAMSAT and analyzing their data. The GOES signals are downloaded to a satellite dish housed on top of the ETAS building on the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus. By comparing the observations from the spectrometer with the processed data from GOES, the research team can validate the functionality of the nanosatellite constellation. If the constellation can monitor greenhouse gases similar to its much more expensive counterpart, the research project is deemed fully successful. The NOAA/NASA GOES is a network of stationary satellites that monitors weather, land, environmental, and climate conditions. The National Weather Service uses this network of satellites to forecast the weather. The SAMSAT will not monitor weather conditions, only greenhouse gases. While the NOAA/NASA GOES is considered the gold standard of monitoring environmental conditions, the SAMSAT is cheaper, leaner, and more flexible in its viewing directions. “Working with Dr. Chan is a great experience. He is an expert in computer imaging and theory. He is very organized and goal oriented and I have the greatest respect for his leadership in this exciting mission,” Wilson said. Due to the size of the NOAA/NASA GOES satellite, it can only see the earth in a top-down point of view. The SAMSAT, however, can view the earth at many different angles and viewpoints. “The first step is to show the world that we are reading the same thing as the big, expensive satellite at a much lower cost with much more flexibility,” Chan said. “We want to show the world that we’re not just saying we can do it, [but] we can validate it against the gold standard.” Satellite History According to NASA, the NOAA/NASA GOES satellite project began in 1975, but its roots go back to 1966 when the Applications Technology Satellite (ATS) series was launched on December 7 of that year. In 1967, the ATS-3 snapped the first color photo of the entire Earth. Future Effects The research team is now in the second year of the project. As they move forward, they plan to boost their research capabilities to gather more detailed data of the atmospheric conditions in Arkansas. By creating more cost-effective and flexible ways to monitor the state’s atmosphere, leaders and scientists in the state can continue to develop new ways to make our communities healthy and vital. This story was provided by Lydia Perry.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors named ‘Visionary Arkansans’

Ajani Oyindamola — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 18:42:54 +0000

Two professors at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock have been named” by the Arkansas Times for their extraordinary research accomplishments. The list recognizes “inspired men and women who are making great things happen.” Dr. Yu-Po Chan, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Department of Systems Engineering, is part of a trio of “spaceflight cubed” researchers who are designing CubeSats, low-cost, miniature satellites. “We are planning in the long run to have a constellation of these satellites … flying in formation,” Chan said. “This would be Arkansas’s very first with our name on it. Many other states bigger than us have already launched, so we are catching up, basically.” His collaborators are Dr. Po-Hao Adam Huang, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at ��Vlog��ý Fayetteville, and Dr. Edmund Wilson, a chemistry professor at Harding University in Searcy. Their first CubeSat model, ArkSat-1, is being designed by Huang and should be delivered to NASA by the end of 2019 and launched in early 2020. In October, Chan received a $24,900 grant from NASA to develop a different CubeSat project. Called SAMSAT (solar and atmospheric measuring satellite), the research will eventually map the presence of water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere above Arkansas. Chan will then compare that information to data collected by the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, or GOES-16, which is one of two weather orbiters operated by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. GOES weighs in at over 3 tons, according to NASA’s website — about the weight of a Hummer H2. SAMSAT will probably weigh around 3 pounds. “We are using the big satellite’s data to validate that what we see is accurate,” Chan said. “We’re talking about billions of dollars in the big satellite, thousands of dollars in these small satellites.” Additionally, “History Detective” Dr. Brian Mitchell, a professor of history at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, has been highlighted for research that is filling in the gaps of the Elaine Massacre, one of the deadliest race riots in American history.

Dr. Brian Mitchell

“Receiving the honor took me by surprise,” Mitchell said. “If I had to say anything, I would thank the students who worked with me on the projects, past and present. I would also thank my colleagues Drs. Barclay Key and Guy Lancaster, noted author and distinguished attorney Grif Stockley, Congressman French Hill and his staff, the Department of Arkansas Heritage, and the Solomon family for their assistance and support.” In September 1919, after one of several meetings black farmers held with representatives of the Progressive Farmers and Household Union, a white deputy spying on the meeting was fatally shot. Acting at the urging of the Phillips County sheriff, a mob of whites roamed the county, killing hundreds — some estimates are as high as 800 — of black residents. Five whites were killed, but only African Americans were arrested and jailed. Twelve black men were quickly found guilty of murder by an all-white jury and sentenced to death. They were imprisoned while their appeals in two famous cases traveled to the state and U.S. supreme courts. Their convictions were overturned, and they were sentenced to time served and released. But fearing they’d be lynched, all 12 fled the state, along with hundreds of other African Americans from Elaine who feared for their lives. Mitchell and his public history graduate students have searched census records, city directories, vital records, and newspaper accounts to discover what happened to the Elaine 12. So far, they have discovered the locations of six of their graves. The students are writing biographies of the men for the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies’ Encyclopedia of Arkansas. They also are raising funds to place markers on their graves, a project ��Vlog��ý Little Rock is doing in collaboration with the National Park Service and other agencies and with the help of private individuals. A previous class worked to transcribe the death certificates of African Americans killed in the race massacre and created a database. The database has been provided to the Arkansas State Archives for public use. In the spring, Mitchell’s History of Racial Violence class will look at the connections between race and violence in America from first contact through the 21st century.

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

Watching the atmosphere

����Vlog��ý Little Rock professors named ‘Visionary Arkansans’

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock professors named ‘Visionary Arkansans’