Profilers/Sounders
AIRS
The AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) instrument is a high spectral resolution grating spectrometer containing 2378 infrared channels in the 3.74 to 15.4 micron spectral range for obtaining atmospheric temperature profiles and a variety of additional Earth/atmosphere products. AIRS is centered on measuring accurate temperature and humidity profiles throughout the atmosphere. AIRS also provides four visible/near-infrared channels (0.4 - 1.0 μm) to characterize cloud and surface properties. Key AIRS Facts Heritage: Advanced Moisture and Temperature Sounder (AMTS), High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) Instrument Type: Temperature controlled (155 K) array grating spectrometer, plus a visible/near-infrared photometer Aperture: 10 cm Swath Width: 1650 km Coverage: Global coverage every 1 to 2 days Spatial Resolution: Infrared: 13.5 km at nadir; Visible/near-infrared: 2.3 km at nadir Dimensions: 116.5 cm x 80 cm x 95.3 cm Mass: 177 kg Power: 180/220 W (beginning/end of life) Duty Cycle: 100% Field of View (FOV): ± 49.5° cross-track from nadir Instrument IFOV (track/scan): Infrared: 1.1° x 0.6° (13.5 km x 7.4 km at nadir); Visible/near-infrared: 0.149° x 0.190° (1.8 km x 2.3 km at nadir) Scan Period: 2.667 s Scan Sampling (scan/track): Infrared: 90 x 1 (1.1° spacing), in 2 s; visible/near-infrared: 720 x 9 (0.138° x 0.185° spacing), in 2 s Design Life: 5 years Group: Instrument_Details Entry_ID: AIRS Group: Instrument_Identification Instrument_Category: Earth Remote Sensing Instruments Instrument_Class: Passive Remote Sensing Instrument_Type: Profilers/Sounders Short_Name: AIRS Long_Name: Atmospheric Infrared Sounder End_Group Group: Associated_Platforms Short_Name: AQUA End_Group Group: Spectral_Frequency_Information Wavelength_Keyword: Visible Number_Channels: 2 Channels Spectral_Frequency_Coverage_Range: 0.4 μm - 0.68 μm Spectral_Frequency_Resolution: λ/Δλ 1200 nominal End_Group Group: Spectral_Frequency_Information Wavelength_Keyword: Near Infrared Number_Channels: 2 Channels Spectral_Frequency_Coverage_Range: 0.71 μm - 0.94 μm Spectral_Frequency_Resolution: λ/Δλ 1200 nominal End_Group Group: Spectral_Frequency_Information Wavelength_Keyword: Infrared > Thermal Number_Channels: 2378 Spectral_Frequency_Coverage_Range: 3.74 μm - 15.4 μm Spectral_Frequency_Resolution: λ/Δλ 1200 nominal End_Group Online_Resource: http://airs.jpl.nasa.gov/ Online_Resource: http://aqua.nasa.gov/content/airs Online_Resource: http://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/AIRS/index.shtml Online_Resource: http://mirador.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/mirador/presentNavigation.pl?tree=project&project=AIRS Sample_Image: http://airs.jpl.nasa.gov/system/content_pages/main_images/13_13_8262767875_dff40d0f0b_z.jpg Creation_Date: 2007-04-16 Group: Instrument_Logistics Data_Rate: 1.27 Mbps Instrument_Start_Date: 2002-08-31 Instrument_Owner: USA/NASA End_Group End_Group