2013: Samples of NO2 and SO2 locally by observing from small aircrafts or UAVs using a small imaging spectrometer.
SWING stands for Small Whiskbroom Imager for trace gases monitorING. NO2 and SO2 sampling from satellites offers spatial resolutions that often are not high enough to study local chemistry and atmospheric transport phenomena, such as emissions from ships and volcanoes. Observing specific areas locally from small aircrafts or UAVs using a small imaging spectrometer potentially increases the resolution by a factor 10 to 100.
For this instrument the Engineering task consisted mainly in the manufacturing of a light-weight mechanical support structure and housing.
Delivery year: 2013 anf following
Internal view of the SWING instrument
External view of the instrument black box
Limiting the mass
Instrumentation on small airborne carriers has to be designed to be as light-weight as possible. The SWING spectrometer has been stripped completely during an intensive weight reduction exercise.
Several elements, such as the housing of the instrument and some optical supporting structures have been 3D-printed in Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS), a light plastic material that guarantees sufficient strength. Also parts of the steering electronics have been reduced in mass. The total mass of SWING is 1.2 kg.
Mechanical 3D CAD drawing of SWING with view on the mechanical support structure for the optics in the nose of the instrument
A mechanical cage-like support structure has been designed and manufactured for the optical head of the instrument (nose), carrying a servo-mechanism, mirror assemblies for the nadir and azimuth viewing directions and other optical and electrical elements.
Attaching to a carrier
Finishing the instrument consisted of glue-mounting the optical elements, inserting of threaded holes and helicoils, black painting and varnishing of the structure.
Integration of SWING inside the Cessna aircraft of the Freie Universität Berlin during the AROMAPEX campaign (Berlin, April 2016)
After stand-alone testing of the assembled instrument by the scientists, the Engineering service built mechanical interfaces to integrate SWING in different carriers. In 2015 and 2016, SWING was used to map anthropogenic NO2 and SO2 in Romania and Germany during international field campaigns.
More evolved versions of this instrument have been made dor other carriers, e.g. SWING+.
SWING+ instrument fully assembled
Publications:
- Merlaud, A.; Tack, F.; Constantin, D.; Georgescu, L.; Maes, J.; Fayt, C.; Mingireanu, F.; Schuettemeyer, D.; Meier, A.C.; Schönardt, A.; Ruhtz, T.; Bellegante, L.; Nicolae, D.; Den Hoed, M.; Allaart, M.; Van Roozendael, M. (2018), “The Small Whiskbroom Imager for atmospheric compositioN monitorinG (SWING) and its operations from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during the AROMAT campaign”, Atmospheric Measurement Techniques, Vol. 11, Issue 1, 551-567, DOI: 10.5194/amt-11-551-2018
- Merlaud, A.; Constantin, D.-E.; Mingireanu, F.; Mocanu, I.; Fayt, C.; Maes, J.; Murariu, G.; Voiculescu, M.; Georgescu, L.; Van Roozendael, M. (2013), “Small whiskbroom imager for atmospheric compositioN monitoring (SWING) from an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)”, (Ouwehand, L., Ed.), SP-721 21st ESA Symposium on European Rocket and Balloon Programmes and Related Research, Vol. 721 SP, 233-239, ESA
More:
- Regular airborne mapping of NO2 above Berlin and Bucharest (annual report 2021-2021)
- Science on wings: measuring nitrogen pollution in flight (news 2022-08-19)
