The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), an advanced sounder containing 2378 infrared channels and four visible/near-infrared channels, aimed at obtaining highly accurate temperature profiles within the atmosphere plus a variety of additional Earth/atmosphere products. AIRS will be the highlighted instrument in the AIRS/AMSU-A/HSB triplet centered on measuring accurate temperature and humidity profiles throughout the atmosphere.
- High-spectral resolution, grating multispectral infrared sounder operated in a cross-track-scanning mode with AMSU-A and HSB for all weather capabiity.
- Measure's the Earth's outgoing radiation at 0.4 to 1.0 µm and 3.7 to 15.4 µm.
- 1 K temperature retrieval accuracy per 1 km layer in the troposphere.
- 0.05 emissivity accuracy.
- Array grating spectrometer (3.74 to 15.4 µm), with a spectral resolution of 1200 (λ / Δλ)
| Responsible Center |
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
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| Heritage |
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Advanced Moisture and Temperature Sounder (AMTS) Study, High Resolution Infrared Radiation Sounder (HIRS) |
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| Swath |
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1650 km |
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| Spatial Resolution |
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13.5 km at horizontal at nadir, 1 km vertical |
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| Mass |
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156 kg |
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| Duty Cycle |
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100% |
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| Power |
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256 Watts |
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| Data Rate |
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1.44 Mbps |
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| Thermal Control By |
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Redundant 60 K Stirling cycle coolers, heater, mini thermal bus, two-stage radiator |
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| Thermal Operating Range |
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20-25°C |
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| Field of View (FOV) |
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±49.5° |
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| Instrument Instantaneous FOV |
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1.1Å° circular |
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| Pointing Requirements (platform+instrument, 3σ) |
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| Control |
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360 arcsec |
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| Knowledge |
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180 arcsec |
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| Stability |
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360/60 sec |
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| Jitter |
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TBD |
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| Physical Size |
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139.7 x 77.5 x 76.2 cm (stowed), 139.7 x 151.2 x 76.2 cm (deployed) |
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"AIRS Scans the US West Coast"
The AIRS on Aqua is the first AIRS instrument and a major advance over earlier sounders flown in space. AIRS will measure atmospheric temperatures, humidities, and a host of other products, in order to improve weather forecasting and the understanding of climate processes. This artist's concept animation shows the AIRS instrument measuring air temperatures at five levels in the atmosphere, each level indicated by a separate color. |
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