SIERRA
Sensor Integrated Environmental Remote Research Aircraft

Generic-Atmospheric State (Gen-AtmsState) refers to non-specific instruments on a platform used for measurements of atmospheric state parameters. These are typically in situ sensors that measure temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind speed/direction. Types of atmospheric state instruments include thermometers, hygrometers, barometers, and anemometers.

The Micro Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (MicroASAR) is an airborne radar system developed by Brigham Young University (BYU) and Artemis, Inc. It was designed to operate on uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and small aircraft. It is a C-band (5428.76 MHz) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that provides radar imagery at a nominal range resolution of 1 m at a 160 MHz bandwidth. MicroASAR can operate at altitudes ranging from 500 to 3000 ft and has a maximum swath width of 300 to 2500 m.

A pyrometer is a remote-sensing infrared thermometer that measures the temperature of distant objects. It determines an object's temperature by detecting its thermal radiation. It can be mounted on aircraft, ground vehicles, or water-based platforms for surface and sea surface temperature observations. For atmospheric studies, the pyrometer usually operates in the 9.6 to 11.5 µm spectral range and has a temperature range of -25 to 200 degrees Celsius. Pyrometers typically have a response time between 5 milliseconds and 600 seconds.

The CU LIDAR Profilometer and Imaging System (CULPIS) is an airborne lidar mapping system developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It is designed to map land and sea ice surface topography and elevation from uncrewed aerial systems (UAS). It consists of a lidar system, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), a global positioning system (GPS), and digital cameras. The lidar system within CULPIS operates at the 905 nm wavelength and has a measurement rate of 400 Hz. It has a lidar footprint of 60 cm and an along-track spacing of 7.5 cm at a flight altitude of 200 m above ground level (AGL) and a flight speed of 30 meters per second.

Spectrometers are instruments used to separate and analyze the spectral components of a substance. They usually measure the electromagnetic radiation that has been reflected, absorbed, or transmitted by the physical sample. Spectrometers can operate across the ultraviolet to infrared spectrum. The most common types include optical, nuclear magnetic resonance, and mass spectrometers. They can be used on aircraft, research vessels, vehicles, and other ground-based platforms.

Digital cameras are used to provide imagery for research applications. Cameras are used on aircraft to collect aerial imagery for mapping and surveying, environmental monitoring, cloud observations, agriculture, geological studies, and other Earth science applications. They are also used at field sites to capture visual observations to monitor changes in land cover, vegetation, clouds, air quality, glaciers, and other phenomena.