Satellite imagery: Difference between revisions

The ''[[Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer|ASTER]]'' is an imaging instrument onboard Terra, the flagship satellite of NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS) launched in December 1999. ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA, Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), and Japan Space Systems (J-spacesystems). ASTER data is used to create detailed maps of land surface temperature, reflectance, and elevation. The coordinated system of EOS satellites, including Terra, is a major component of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and the Earth Science Division. The goal of NASA Earth Science is to develop a scientific understanding of the Earth as an integrated system, its response to change, and to better predict variability and trends in climate, weather, and natural hazards.<ref name="Jet Propulsion Laboratory">{{cite web |url=http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/mission.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050322161843/http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/mission.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=2005-03-22 |title=ASTER Project |access-date=2015-04-06}}</ref>

 

* Vegetation and ecosystem dynamics—investigations of vegetation and soil distribution and their changes to estimate biological productivity, understand land-atmosphere interactions, and detect ecosystem change

* Volcano monitoring—monitoring of eruptions and precursor events, such as gas emissions, eruption plumes, development of lava lakes, eruptive history and eruptive potential