Remote Sensing Capabilities to Detect Maritime Vessels in Distress

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has the responsibility for conducting research and development for search and rescue as charged under the National Search and Rescue Plan. For over two decades this task has been undertaken by the Search and Rescue Mission Office at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). The technology used by the highly successful beacon locating satellite system, Cospas-Sarsat, was conceived and developed at GSFC and is managed by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Using beacon-less remote sensing to find people and vessels in distress complements the demonstrated life saving capabilities of this satellite system. The Search and Rescue Mission Office has been investigating the use of fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar to locate crashed aircraft. An overview of this effort and potential maritime applications of Search and Rescue Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) will be presented. The Mission Office has also developed a Laser search and rescue system called L-SAR. The prototype instrument was designed and built by SenSyTech Inc. It specifically targets the location of novel retro-reflective material easily applied to rescue equipment and vessels in distress. An overview of this effort will also be presented.