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Sensor Systems of the NASA Airborne Science ProgramThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration maintains a variety of aircraft and sensor systems dedicated to the support of remote sensing research. Two Lockheed ER-2s (S-model U-2,) a DC-8, and several U.S. Dept. of Energy aircraft provide multi-level platforms for both NASA and investigator-owned sensors. Data are collected for the atmospheric, land, and ocean processes aspects of the NASA Earth Science program, as well as for universities and other government agencies. Several of these systems are being used to validate algorithms for the NASA Earth Observing System.The NASA aircraft, located at Dryden Flight Research Center, are used as test-beds for advanced sensor design and satellite simulation, as well as to support scientific and operational data collection campaigns. Numerous sensor systems are in use and under development by NASA, including multispectral imaging devices, a SAR system, and a suite of large-format mapping cameras. All instruments are spectrally, spatially, and radiometrically calibrated on a routine basis. The aircraft themselves are equipped with navigation systems that continuously record GPS location and platform attitude data. The systems described here are facility NASA sensors, and are generally available to the science community; they reside at either Ames Research Center or the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (noted as ARC or JPL, respectively.) There are a variety of other sensors that fly on these aircraft that are owned by individual investigators, which are not within the scope of this document. To download a printable verion of this document in either Word or PDF format Click the appropriate button below.
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AVIRIS Insturument undergoing pre-flight checks 
AVIRIS Image of Mount St. Helens |
AVIRIS (Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer - JPL)The AVIRIS is the second in a series of imaging spectrometer instruments developed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for earth remote sensing. This instrument uses scanning optics and four spectrometers to image a 614 pixel swath simultaneously in 224 contiguous spectral bands.AVIRIS parameters are as follows:
Notes: This instrument is flown on the ER-2 aircraft. All data collection missions are coordinated through JPL. (See the AVIRIS homepage at http://makalu.jpl.nasa.gov/aviris.html) |
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MODIS Airborne Simulator 
MODIS imagery from the Alaska-April95 Campaign 
MODIS imagery from the WINCE Campaign 
MODIS imagery of the Arkansas River Gorge, Colorado |
MODIS Airborne Simulator (ARC)The MODIS Airborne Simulator (MAS) is a multispectral scanner configured to approximate the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS), an instrument to be orbited on the NASA EOS-AM1 platform. MODIS is designed to measure terrestrial and atmospheric processes. The MAS was a joint project of Daedalus Enterprises, Berkeley Camera Engineering, and Ames Research Center. The MODIS Airborne Simulator records fifty spectral bands, configured as follows:
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MASTER instrument in the calibration lab |
MASTER (MODIS/ASTER Airborne Simulator - ARC)The MASTER is similar to the MAS, with the thermal bands modified to more closely match the NASA EOS ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) satellite instrument, which is scheduled for launch in 1998. It is intended primarily to study geologic and other Earth surface properties. Flying on both high and low altitude aircraft, the MASTER will be operational in early 1998. Its fifty spectral bands are configured as follows:
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A cut-away view of the MISR instrument |
AirMISR (Airborne Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer - JPL)This is an airborne instrument for obtaining multi-angle imagery similar to that of the satellite-borne MISR instrument, which is designed to contribute to studies of the Earth's ecology and climate. AirMISR flies on the NASA-owned ER-2 aircraft. It was built for NASA by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.(See the homepage at http://www-misr.jpl.nasa.gov/armain.html) |
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AIRSAR image of Missoula Mt. |
AIRSAR (Airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar - JPL)This is an experimental system managed by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL,) that flies on the DC-8 aircraft. It simultaneously acquires data in the L, P, and C-Bands in multiple polarizations.The system was designed in support of the Space Shuttle Imaging Radar-C (SIR-C) program, but is widely used in the SAR remote sensing research community. (See the homepage at http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/desc/AIRSdesc.html) |
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TMS mounted in the Q-Bay |
TMS (Thematic Mapper Simulator - ARC)This is a Daedalus AADS-1268 scanner that flies on the ER-2 aircraft and simulates the LANDSAT TM instrument, with slightly higher spatial resolution, and several extra bands.
The system is scheduled to be upgraded to 16-bit resolution in late 1998. (See the homepage at http://asapdata.arc.nasa.gov/Sensors.htm) |
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AOCI image of the Missippi Delta |
AOCI (Airborne Ocean Color Imager - ARC)The AOCI is a high altitude multispectral scanner built by Daedalus Enterprises, designed for oceanographic remote sensing. It provides 10-bit digitization of eight bands in the visible/near-infrared region of the spectrum, plus two 8-bit bands in the near and thermal infrared. The bandwidths are as follows:
(See the homepage at http://asapdata.arc.nasa.gov/Sensors.htm) |
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MAMS composites 
MAMS Catalina Island Composite |
MAMS (Multispectral Atmospheric Mapping Sensor - ARC)The MAMS is a modified Daedalus Scanner flown aboard the ER-2 aircraft. It is designed to study weather related phenomena including storm system structure, cloud-top temperatures, and upper atmospheric water vapor. The scanner retains the eight silicon-detector channels in the visible/near-infrared region found on the Daedalus Thematic Mapper Simulator, with the addition of four channels in the infrared relating to specific atmospheric features. The spectral bands are as follows:
(See the homepage at http://wwwghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/irgrp/mams) |
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A-4 Configuration (RC-10 and HR-732) 
RC-10 Image of San Francisco |
Aerial Camera Systems (ARC)The ER-2 can carry a variety of film camera systems. Several of these cameras are calibrated for precision photogrammetry, and the film may be used to generate digital ortho-photos or high-resolution digital elevation models.
(See the homepage at http://asapdata.arc.nasa.gov/Sensors.htm) |
