Impact of NASA’s ESTO SLI-T, IIP, and other R&D Investments on SLI program

Over the past decade, the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) has strategically invested funds in programs that have yielded substantial benefits to the Sustainable Land Imaging (SLI) program.

Some of these investments, such as the SLI-Technology (SLI-T) program were funded using SLI funds set aside to reduce the risks and costs for future SLI needs.  Other programs, such as Advanced Component Technologies (ACT), Instrument Incubator Program (IIP), Advanced Information Systems Technology (AIST), and In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST), address the broader Earth Science Land Imaging needs with direct benefit to SLI. 

This paper will highlight the relevant programs and indicate the ways that they have enabled and will enable the short and long-term SLI program needs and budgetary constraints.  Driving requirements and the ways these are satisfied with each components or system will be presented. 

Example data that demonstrates the performance of these new concept demonstrations will be shown.