NSSDCA ID: 1999-068A-01
Mission Name: TerraThe objectives of the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) included surface and cloud imaging with high spatial resolution in 14 multispectral channels from visible to thermal infrared and determination of surface kinetic temperatures. The instrument consisted of (1) three visible and near-infrared channels (VNIR) between 0.5 and 0.9 micrometers at 15 meter resolution, (2) six shortwave infrared channels (SWIR) between 1.6 and 2.5 micrometers at 30 meter resolution, and (3) five thermal infrared channels (TIR) between 8 and 12 micrometers at 90 meter resolution. The instrument had 4 % absolute radiometric accuracy in the VNIR and SWIR, and 2 K absolute thermal accuracy (240 to 370 K) over a 60 km swath whose center was pointable cross-track +/- 106 km. One of the VNIR channels provided along cross-track stereo views with a base-to-height ratio of 0.6, which was used for stereoscopic observations of local topography, cloud heights, volcanic plumes, and generating local digital elevation models (DEMs). Various combinations of VNIR, SWIR, and TIR were important in (1) soil and rock studies, (2) volcano monitoring, (3) surface temperature, emissivity, and reflectivity, (4) land use patterns and vegetation monitoring, (5) evapotranspiration, land and ocean temperatures, and (6) glacier monitoring. The ASTER pointing capabilities were such that any point on the globe was accessible at least once every 16 days. ASTER was operated jointly by the Geological Survey of Japan and NASA. The instrument was flown on the EOS-AM1 spacecraft.
Mass: 352 kg
Power (avg): 377 W
Bit rate (avg): 8300 kbps
Questions and comments about this experiment can be directed to: Coordinated Request and User Support Office
Name | Role | Original Affiliation | |
---|---|---|---|
Dr. Anne B. Kahle | Team Leader | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory | anne@aster.jpl.nasa.gov |
Dr. Hiroji Tsu | Team Leader | Geological Survey of Japan |