Polar Radiant Energy in the Far InfraRed Experiment
Overview
PREFIRE makes the first full spectral measurements of Far InfraRed (FIR) radiation, revealing the full spectrum of Arctic radiant energy. It fills a major gap in our knowledge of the Arctic energy budget and the role of FIR radiation in Arctic warming, sea ice loss, ice sheet melt, and sea level rise.
The Arctic is Earth’s thermostat. It regulates the climate by venting excess energy received in the tropics.
Nearly 60% of Arctic emission occurs at wavelengths longer than 15 μm (FIR) that have never been systematically measured.
PREFIRE quantifies spatial and temporal variability in spectral FIR emission and the atmospheric greenhouse effect.
Mission
How are we measuring and what will we do with the data?
PREFIRE measures variations in FIR emissivity and greenhouse effect via thermal radiometric sampling at the top of the polar atmosphere. These measurements are integrated with models to understand the role of FIR radiation in Arctic climate.
Baseline Mission
Two 3U CubeSat spacecraft in two different 470-650 km altitude, near-polar (82°-98° inclination) orbits, each with a Heritage miniaturized IR spectrometer, covering the 0-54 μm region at 0.84 μm spectral resolution, operating for one seasonal cycle (a year) with diurnal subsampling.
Threshold Mission
One 3U CubeSat spacecraft (470-650 km altitude) in near-polar orbit (82° - 98° inclination), operating for a half seasonal cycle (6 months).
CubeSat Orbit
Instrument
TIRS Opto-mechanical design
Thermal IR Spectrometer (TIRS)
- Flight-proven hardware and design—TIRS uncooled detector and filter block design maturity are from Mars Climate Sounder and Diviner
- Instrument has adequate margins (mass, power, volume, and data rate)
- Orbit and mission design flexibility for accommodating different launch opportunities