Aircraft Scanners

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Aircraft 
      Scanners data set contains digital imagery acquired from several 
      multispectral scanners, including Daedalus thematic mapper simulator
      scanners and  the thermal infrared multispectral scanner.  Data are
      collected from  selected areas over the conterminous United States,
      Alaska, and Hawaii by  NASA ER-2 and NASA C-130B aircraft, operating
      from the NASA Ames Research  Center in Moffett Field, California, and by
      NASA Learjet aircraft, operating  from Stennis Space Center in Bay St.
      Louis, Mississippi.  Limited  international acquisitions also are
      available.
      
      In cooperation with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Daedalus 
      Enterprises,Inc., NASA developed several multispectral sensors.  The
      data  acquired from these sensors supports NASA's Airborne Science and
      Applications  Program and have been identified as precursors to the
      instruments scheduled to  fly on Earth Observing System platforms.
      
      THEMATIC MAPPER SIMULATOR
      
      The Thematic Mapper Simulator (TMS) sensor is a line scanning device   
      designed for a variety of Earth science applications.  Flown aboard       
      NASA ER-2 aircraft, the TMS sensor has a nominal Instantaneous Field  of       
      View of 1.25 milliradians with a ground resolution of 81 feet (25  meters)     
        at 65,000 feet. The TMS sensor scans at a rate of 12.5 scans per  second     
        with 716 pixels per scan line.  Swath width is 8.3 nautical miles       
      (15.4 kilometers) at 65,000 feet while the scanner's Field of View  is       
      42.5 degrees.  
      
      NS-001 MULTISPECTRAL SCANNER 
      
      The NS-001multispectral scanner is a line scanning device designed  to       
      simulate Landsat thematic mapper (TM) sensor performance, including  a       
      near infrared/short-wave infrared band used in applications similar  to those  
      of the TM sensor (e.g., Earth resources mapping, vegetation/land  cover   
      mapping, geologic studies).  Flown aboard NASA C-130B aircraft, the  NS-001
      sensor has a nominal Instantaneous Field of View of 2.5 milliradians     with a
      ground resolution of 25 feet (7.6 meters) at 10,000 feet.  The sensor has a
      variable scan rate (10 to 100 scans per second) with 699  pixels per scan line,
      but the available motor drive supply restricts the  maximum stable scan speed
      to approximately 85 revolutions per second. A scan rate  of 100 revolutions per
      second is possible, but not probable, for short  scan lines; therefore, a
      combination of factors, including aircraft  flight requirements and maximum
      scan speed, prevent scanner operation below 1,500 feet.  Swath width is 3.9
      nautical miles (7.26 kilometers) at 10,000 feet, and the total scan angle or
      field of regard for the sensor is 100 degrees, plus or minus 15 degrees for
      roll compensation.         
      
      THERMAL INFRARED MULTISPECTRAL SCANNER         
      
      The Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) sensor is a line  scanning  
      device originally designed for geologic applications.  Flown aboard NASA
      C-130B, NASA ER-2, and NASA Learjet aircraft, the TIMS sensor  has a       
      nominal Instantaneous Field of View of 2.5 milliradians with a  ground       
      resolution of 25 feet (7.6 meters) at 10,000 feet.  The sensor has a       
      selectable scan rate (7.3, 8.7, 12, or 25 scans per second) with 698  pixels   
      per scan line.  Swath width is 2.6 nautical miles (4.8 kilometers)  at     
      10,000 feet while the scanner's Field of View is 76.56 degrees.

Tags: atmosphere, atmospheric-radiation, earth-science, infrared-wavelengths, spectral-engineering, visible-wavelengths
Organization: National Aeronautics and Space Administration