Subject: Satellite Imagery FAQ - 4/5
Supersedes: <sci/Satellite-Imagery-FAQ/part4_824542314@rtfm.mit.edu>
Date: 19 Mar 1996 03:58:12 GMT
References: <sci/Satellite-Imagery-FAQ/part1_827207059@rtfm.mit.edu>
Summary: Satellite Imagery for Earth Observation
X-Last-Updated: 1996/02/14


This document is part of the Satellite Imagery FAQ 

Satellite Information

Almaz

Russian SAR imagery, ground resolution believed to be up to 15m.
Images approx 40Km square. Available in four standard levels. Brief
technical information is at 
http://gds.esrin.esa.it/T0xc1cce622_0x000053d8. Product details are at 
http://gds.esrin.esa.it/Ceuri.almaz. 

ERS-1

ERS-1, the first European Remote Sensing Satellite, was launched by
ESA in July 1991. 

Stop press: reorganisation of Esrin's pages invalidates former links under
"services". GDS links, including the ERS-1 mission front page at 
http://gds.esrin.esa.it/Ceuro_ers still work.

This now includes ERS-1 FAQ, mission information, applications &
bibliography, imagery and services. Further information, including Earth
Observation Quarterly continue to be available through 
http://services.esrin.esa.it.

Online browsing of ERS-1 SAR images is available through Esrin's
Multi-Mission Browse Service (MMBS) at 
http://tracy.esrin.esa.it:8001/www/

For ground station availability, see http://sloth.esrin.esa.it/gsstatus.html

Reference:
ERS User Handbook, esa SP-1148, ed. Bruce Battrick ISSN 0379-6566
ISBN 92-9092-029-7 published by ESA-ESTEC, Nordwijk, NL.

ERS-2

Extensive set of WWW pages unveiled just before the April 21st Launch
under http://services.esrin.esa.it/ including daily reports during
calibration phase. The new GOME equipment is described under 
http://gds.esrin.esa.it/Ccal_val_gome. 

IRS-1C

IRS-1C was launched successfully on December 28th, 1995.
Information is available from the homepage at 
http://www.stph.net:80/nrsa/.

Information posted by Nick Rollings and
(nrolling@METZ.UNE.EDU.AU) and Guy Pierre (GP@scotc.cnes.fr);
reformated with possible errors by me: 

IRS-1C charactersitics

                 PAN             LISS-III                     WIFS

Type          Pushbroom         Pushbroom                  Whisk-broom

Quantisation     64               128                           128

repeat cycle     24                24                           5 off-nadir
  days

Swath (km)       70               142                           810

Spatial Res.(m)  5.8              23.5 (B2-4) 70.5 (B5)         188

Spectral Bands B1 0.50-0.75 B2 0.52-0.59 B3 0.62-0.68 B4 0.77-0.86 B5 1.55-1.70
(source: Australian Centre for Remote Sensing ACRES)

- the PAN camera is a high resolution (5.8m) single band sensor
(0.5-0.75 microns) with ground swath of 70 kms. It can be steered
up to +/- 26 degrees for obtaining stereoscopic data and 5 day
revisit.
- IRS-1C has an on-board recorder allowing to store 24 minutes of
data, over half a swath (35 km) in PAN mode
(Source: INTERFACE bulletin from the NRSA data centre)

JERS-1

Japanese Earth Resources Satellite -1
NASDA's WWW page on this satellite is at 
http://hdsn.eoc.nasda.go.jp/guide/guide/satellite/satdata/jers_e.html and
includes brief details & a couple of images.

Sensor Characteristics

http://gds.esrin.esa.it/CEURI.APP3.JERS1 

OPS (Optical) Imagery - Online Browse

http://tracy.esrin.esa.it:8001/www/

KOSMOS

Russian imagery; currently the highest spatial resolution of any available.
The KVR-1000 camera produces imagery at up to 2-meter resolution
(panchromatic). There are online samples at 
http://cen.cenet.com/htmls/d2/sate.htm.

A fine sample in the Eurimage 1995 calender shows KVR-1000
combined with Landsat TM to give the effect of ultra-high-resolution
colour imagery. The TK-350 camera offers 10-meter resolution, and
stereo capabilities.

Technical information on the net is (AFAIK) sparse, but Ivan Krasnyj
(ivan@krasnyj.spb.su at the time) posted the following: 

   TK-350   (Topographic  Camera)     has     high      measuring
characteristics. The images obtained  by  this  camera  have 10 m
ground resolution, average  scale  is  1:660000,  image  size  is
30x45 cm, one image covers the area 200x300 km, and  longitudinal
stereoscopic overlap is 60% or 80%.
   Stereoscopic overlap of TK-350 camera  images  (maximum  value
of B/H ratio is close to 1)  provides  the  obtaining  of  ground
relief mean error of 7 m, which is more  better  than  for  other
existing systems.
   The image can be enlarged up to 1:50000 scale.

   KVR-1000.
   KVR-1000 (High  Resolution  Camera)  can  work  together  with
TK-350 and provides the obtaining of the images with 2  m  ground
resolution, 1:220000 average scale, image size is 18x18  cm,  and
one image covers area  40x40  km.  Camera  works  in panchromatic
spectral range. The materials obtained by means of  KVR-1000  let
one to  perform  the  detailed  identification  of  the  area  of
shooting. The images can be enlarged up to 1:10000 scale  without
significant loss of quality, which makes possible  to  create  on
their basis photomaps, photoplans and  other  products  of  scale
1:10000 and smaller.

   Joint use of photo  materials  made  by  TK-350  and  KVR-1000
cameras together with the numerical measuring  parameters,  which
are registered at the moment of  shooting,  let  one  to  perform
photogrammetric  processing  and   to   create  topographic   and
photomaps of 1:50000  scale  and  smaller.   It  is  possible  to
create maps practically  of  any  region  of  the  Earth surface,
including the territories, where  geodetic reference  network  is
unavailable.

   Images can be delivered in the form of film, paper  print  and
as digital data.

Landsat

Landsat's mission is "to provide for repetitive acquisition of high
resolution multispectral data of the earth's surface on a global basis".
Landsat is the "classic" Earth Observation satellite, dating back to 1972.
The MSS (Multispectral Scanner) instrument provides visible/infrared
imagery at 80m resolution; the TM (Thematic Mapper), first deployed
on Landsat 4 in 1982, improves this to 20-30m.

Comprehensive guides are available at 
http://sun1.cr.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/guide/landsat.

http://sun1.cr.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/guide/landsat_tm.

World-map based WWW browsing of Landsat TM imagery is available
from http:tracy.esrin.esa.it:8001/www/ or http://www.coresw.com.

1982-1985 TM, and 1972-1992 MSS data are available at reduced
prices from USGS. See http://sun1.cr.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/news/tm.html.
See also the Landsat Pathfinder, at 
http://pathfinder-www.sr.unh.edu/pathfinder/ 

Meteosat

Meteosat homepage is at http://gds.esrin.esa.it/Cmeteosat

Nimbus

Description and imagery at http://gds.esrin.esa.it/CNIMBUS

(AFAIK) most noted for the CZCS ocean colour and other marine maps.
This data is available in a variety of net locations and on CDROM. See
the SeaWiFS project's pages at 
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEAWIFS/IMAGES/CZCS.html 

NOAA Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES)

This long-running (1978-) series of satellites carry the AVHRR
instrument. A passive visible/infrared instrument imaging a broad
(2400Km) swath, this is the most widely used of any in large-area
(including continental and global scale) Earth Observation.

There is a comprehensive guide to AVHRR imagery at 
http://sun1.cr.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/guide/avhrr.

Sources for AVHRR data on the net are numerous - here are a few:

 1. (near) real-time: (see also Weather Pics)

   http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/images.html
      Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
      "Global Satellite Imagery"

 2. Datasets (see also Whole-World Images)

   http://sun1.cr.usgs.gov/landdaac/landdaac.html
      USGS/EDC Land DAAC
   http://shark1.esrin.esa.it/
      Ionia browser from ESA/ESRIN
   http://xtreme.gsfc.nasa.gov/
      Land Pathfinder from NASA/GSFC.
   http://sst-www.jpl.nasa.gov/
      SST Pathfinder from NASA/JPL
   http://pegasus.nesdi s.noaa.gov//pathfinder.html
      Atmosphere pathfinder from NOAA
   http://www.grdl.noaa.gov/
      NOAA Satellite Active Archive (DAAC)
   http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/pub/magsst/magsst.html
      Modern Average Global Sea Surface Temperature
      (USGS)
   http://www.xmission.com/~idi/usfs.htm
      The USA from Space

SeaStar

Ocean colour monitoring satellite; successor to CZCS(Nimbus).
SeaWiFS - High temporal and spectral resolution optical instrument.

Comprehensive information on homepage at 
http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/scripts/SEAWIFS.html. 

Shuttle

The principal Earth Observation missions (AFAIK) are Imaging Radar.
There is also a collection of Earth Observation imagery at NASA/JSC 
http://images.jsc.nasa.gov/html/home.htm

Shuttle Imaging Radar

Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar
The most recent Shuttle Imaging Radar mission is a joint venture of
NASA and the German and Italian national space agencies. It is
equipped with an advanced imaging radar operating at three different
wavelengths, and a variable viewing angle. SIR-C missions took place
in April and October 1994. It is well covered by several good webpages,
including: 

   NASA JPL have an excellent imaging radar homepage at 
   http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/, the serious contents of which is at 
   http://southport.jpl.nasa.gov/scienceapps.html. Links from this
   page include information and browse images, and also an
   interactive bulletin board (nice)! for discussion of imaging radar.
   DLR have a SIR-C/X-SAR page 
   http://www.op.dlr.de/ne-hf/SRL.html, containing general and
   mission information and online imagery, and an excellent
   description. 
   USGS/EDC have a SIR-C/X-SAR page at 
   http://sun1.cr.usgs.gov/landdaac/sir-c/sir-c.html, with general
   information and browse facility. 

There is also a new browser at 
http://ic-www.arc.nasa.gov/ic/projects/bayes-group/Atlas/Earth/.
However, it refused to serve me images: someone tell me whether it's
broken or whether I have a problem? 

RADARSAT

Canadian Space Agency's major Earth Observation satellite, due for
1995 launch. Pending a proper entry here, see their homepage at 
http://adro.radar1.sp-agency.ca/adrohomepage.html. It's good and
comprehensive, but slow!

Another introduction is available from CCRS, at 
http://www.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/ccrs/radarsat/rsate.html

December 1995: Radarsat Imagery is now online from MDA at 
http://www.mda.ca/radarsat/ 

Satellite Probatoire pour L'Osservation de la Terre (SPOT)

The french SPOT satellites provide high-resolution visual/infrared Earth
Observation imagery. At 10m (Panchromatic) / 20m (Multispectral),
SPOT imagery offers higher resolution than the major alternative
Landsat. In addition, SPOT is the leading provider of stereoscopic
(3-dimensional) imagery.

There is a comprehensive guide to SPOT at 
http://sun1.cr.usgs.gov/glis/hyper/guide/spot.

Browsing SPOT imagery can be challenging (but check out 
http://www.coresw.com/. Spot Image's DALI catalogue system
provides the facility, but may not be convenient to all users. Online
access to DALI is available, as noted by Wim Bakker after a rather
extended discussion on the List: 

        H E R E ' S   H O W   T O   A C C E S S   D A L I

Follow the URL:
telnet://esapid@epocat.esrin.esa.it
(TELNET to epocat.esrin.esa.it username 'esapid')

Answer the questions like
Enter FAMILY name (minimum 6 chars) :
Enter FIRST name  (minimum 6 chars) :
                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^(my first name doesn't even have 6 chars! :-)

>From the MAIN_MENU choose:
                  2.  DATA SYSTEM/ARCHIVE descriptions.

Under the DC_QUERY enter:
 System / Archive
 (2)  Short Name (Acronym)             [DALI                           ]

Under DC_DISPLAY enter:
LINK

The following text will appear:
==========================================================================


      Attempting to connect to the DALI node ...


    You are being connected to the DALI SPOT IMAGE catalogue.

   Enter:
       Username : QLEMAST
       Password : MASTER

  To connect to the catalogue, write at the prompt ('>')
        CON CAT .
  Make sure you type the space and period " ." at the end of the command.

  Only one user at the same time can access to the catalogue, so if you
  do not arrive to access try later.

  You can now perform searches of the database.
  A simple example of a search is given below.  For other information,
  refer to the "Type 3 Consultation Station User's Manual" for SPOT IMAGE.
  To have a COPY OF THE MANUAL or a PERSONNEL ACCOUNT, please contact
  Marie Rousselot at SPOT IMAGE.

  Exit from the DALI system by typing (with space and period):
    DIS .
  which is short for DISconnect.  You will be returned back to this
  screen in the ESAPID.


  Example of search,
  Type:

  SE GEO KJ 066/316 CRI DA FR 1991/07/01 TI 10:18 TO 1991/07/01 TI 10:19 .
  Again, you must put a space and period " ." at the end of the search command.


  The above command is an example from the SPOT IMAGE Manual and means "SElect
  GEOgraphic KJ k/j CRIteria FRom YYYY/MM/DD TIme HH:MM TO YYYY/MM/DD TIme
   HH:MM."

  There are many other ways to search the database that are outlined in the
  manual. The search results will be displayed on the screen.  The user manual
  explains the various output parameters.




%PAD-I-COM, call connected to remote DTE

ACCESS TO THIS SYSTEM IS SUBJECT TO PRIOR AUTHORIZATION ,
AND IS THEREFORE PROHIBITED TO NON AUTHORIZED PERSONS.

CE SYSTEME EST RESERVE AUX USAGERS HABILITES
ET INTERDIT AUX AUTRES UTILISATEURS.

   S I  /  D P S T  /  S I



Username : QLEMAST
Password : MASTER


==========================================================================
At long last, you're in!

In addition to using the 'LINK' facility via ESA it must be possible
to connect via the American or Asian sites of the CEOS IDN:

        telnet://nodis@nssdca.gsfc.nasa.gov
        telnet://nasdadir@nsaeoc.eoc.nasda.go.jp


TOPEX/POSEIDON

Details and imagery at the homepage http://topex-www.jpl.nasa.gov/ 

Sea-Surface Height Map - an interactive browser is available at 
http://www.ccar.colorado.edu/~hendricj/topexssh.html 

Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM)

See http://ame.gsfc.nasa.gov/tsdis/tsdis.html 
