Evolution of the Multi-Angle Stratospheric Aerosol Radiometer

Stratospheric aerosols influence solar heating of Earth's atmosphere and therefore impact the severity of climate change effects caused by greenhouse gases. Accurate space-borne vertically resolved observations of these aerosols are required to reduce uncertainty in radiative forcing modeling, provide correlative measurements for other scientific missions, and monitor natural events like volcanic plumes that impact air travel. The Multi-Angle Stratospheric Aerosol Radiometer (MASTAR) has been developed at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to address the need for enhanced observations of stratospheric aerosols by implementing a novel instrument design concept that provides simultaneous multi-angle, multi-spectral observations at high vertical and spatial resolution. These observational capabilities sample the full range of scattering angles and increase ground sampling over current operational systems such as the Suomi Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS) Limb Sensor. We describe the MASTAR instrument system concept as it has evolved through the research design phase, current efforts to improve technology readiness for future space-flight operational use by conducting high altitude balloon flights, and potential future satellite applications.