Atmospheric System Research is to advance understanding of the interactions among aerosols, clouds, precipitation, radiation, dynamics, and thermodynamics.
The Cloud Absorption Radiometer (CAR), considered the most frequently used airborne instrument built in-house at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, is capable of measuring scattered light by clouds in fourteen spectral bands. To load an expanded view of the CAR instrument, with many of the mechanical, optical, and electronic components identified, click on the thumbnail image to the right.
EPIC (Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera) is a 10-channel spectroradiometer (317 – 780 nm) onboard DSCOVR (Deep Space Climate Observatory) spacecraft. EPIC provides 10 narrow band spectral images of the entire sunlit face of Earth using a 2048x2048 pixel CCD (Charge Coupled Device) detector coupled to a 30-cm aperture Cassegrain telescope. Click here to see the EPIC website
No instrument like MISR has flown in space before. Viewing the sunlit Earth simultaneously at nine widely spaced angles, MISR provides ongoing global coverage with high spatial detail. Its imagery is carefully calibrated to provide accurate measures of the brightness, contrast, and color of reflected sunlight.
MODIS (or Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) is a key instrument aboard the Terra(originally known as EOS AM-1) and Aqua (originally known as EOS PM-1) satellites. Terra's orbit around the Earth is timed so that it passes from north to south across the equator in the morning, while Aqua passes south to north over the equator in the afternoon.
The PolSIR instrument – short for Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer – will help humanity better understand Earth’s dynamic atmosphere and its impact on climate by studying ice clouds that form at high altitudes throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions.
SMART-COMMIT-ACHIEVE, Enriching EOS and Decadal Survey missions, piloting innovative investigations, conducting educational and public outreach activities
Thor is an airborne lidar instrument designed to measure the thickness and internal structure of highly scattering media such as thick clouds, snow, or sea ice. It is a multi-view lidar system: It emits short laser pulses and observes both the spatial and temporal characteristics of the pulses spreading inside the probed media.
