DESIS Level-2A Surface Reflectance

DESIS Level-2A Surface Reflectance is the atmospherically corrected surface reflectance product from the DLR Earth Sensing Imaging Spectrometer, a VNIR pushbroom hyperspectral instrument operated on the ISS MUSES platform from November 2018 until retirement on 31 December 2023.^[1][2] The product covers 402 to 1000 nm across 235 contiguous spectral bands at 30-metre ground sampling distance, delivered as GeoTIFF.^[2][1] The instrument was validated by Alonso et al. (2019) for radiometric calibration, data quality, and thematic performance including vegetation indices and mineral reflectance.^[1]

The archive is closed; no new acquisitions are available after December 2023. Coverage spans approximately 52 S to 55 N latitude, constrained by the ISS orbital inclination of 51.6 degrees.^[3] Non-sun-synchronous acquisition means illumination geometry varies across scenes and normalisation is required for multi-temporal comparisons. Access is restricted to scientific use following DLR registration; data are not freely redistributable.^[2]

The product supports VNIR hyperspectral applications including per-pixel vegetation index retrieval (chlorophyll, LAI proxies), ferric iron mineral mapping, and land cover classification across the tropical-to-mid-latitude belt.^[2][1] SWIR coverage (1300-2500 nm) is absent, excluding clay, carbonate, sulphate, and phyllosilicate alteration mineral discrimination that requires SWIR wavelengths. L2A surface reflectance products acquired before commissioning closeout in late October 2018 may carry interim calibration coefficients; the nominal-operations archive from late 2018 onward carries reprocessed coefficients.^[1]