Instruments & payloads

Three-telescope multispectral imaging radiometer aboard Terra (EOS AM-1), jointly developed by METI/Japan and NASA, covering 14 bands from visible through thermal infrared (520-11650 nm). VNIR 15 m, SWIR 30 m (non-operational since approximately April 2008), TIR 90 m, 60 km swath. The pre-2008 SWIR archive (bands 4-9, 1.60-2.43 um, with bands 6-9 at 2.145-2.43 um particularly diagnostic for clay, carbonate, and sulphate alteration mineral identification) is the foundational global dataset for regional lithological and mineral alteration mapping.

Active C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar operating at 5.405 GHz (about 5.55 cm wavelength), sole imaging payload of the ESA Sentinel-1 satellite series under the Copernicus programme. Instrument built by Airbus Defence and Space (Friedrichshafen); satellite platform built by Thales Alenia Space (distinct role). Active phased-array antenna 12.3 by 0.821 metres. Four imaging modes: Interferometric Wide Swath (IW) is the operational workhorse at 250 km swath / 5 by 20 m resolution dual-pol; plus Extra Wide (EW, 400 km), Stripmap (SM, 80 km, ERS/Envisat heritage), and Wave (WV, open ocean profiling). Operational on Sentinel-1A (2014), Sentinel-1C (Dec 2024), Sentinel-1D (Nov 2025); Sentinel-1B retired August 2022 after a power anomaly. Backbone of RADD forest disturbance alerts.

Pushbroom VNIR hyperspectral imaging spectrometer developed by DLR Earth Observation Center, deployed June 2018 to the ISS MUSES platform operated by Teledyne Brown Engineering. 235 spectral channels from 402 to 1000 nm at 2.55 nm sampling, 30 m GSD, 30 km swath. Retired 31 December 2023 after approximately five years of operations. VNIR-only coverage excludes diagnostic SWIR features; adequate but not well-suited for clay, carbonate, and sulphate alteration mineral identification.

Dyson-design pushbroom hyperspectral imaging spectrometer hosted on the International Space Station ExPRESS Logistics Carrier 1 (ELC1), designed and built by NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Covers 380-2500 nm across approximately 285 contiguous bands at 7.4 nm spectral sampling, 60 m GSD, 80 km swath, using a mercury cadmium telluride detector array. Launched aboard SpaceX CRS-25 on 14 July 2022; extended mission approved April 2023 and active through at least 2026. Primary science objective: map mineral composition of Earth arid dust source regions to quantify dust radiative forcing. L2B Estimated Mineral Identification product identifies ten key mineral classes including kaolinite, illite, montmorillonite, calcite, dolomite, hematite, and goethite. ISS 51.6-degree inclination limits coverage to approximately 52 S to 52 N. Broadest SWIR-band-positioned hyperspectral imager among operational ISS instruments; complements EnMAP and PRISMA for global surface mineralogy applications.

Dual-detector pushbroom hyperspectral imaging spectrometer, sole payload of the EnMAP satellite (launched 1 April 2022, routine ops 2 November 2022). Built by OHB System AG as prime contractor; operated by DLR Earth Observation Center (Oberpfaffenhofen). Covers 420 to 2450 nm across 228 spectral bands: 99 VNIR bands at 6.5 nm sampling, 163 SWIR bands at 10 nm sampling, merged at the 900-1000 nm overlap. 30 m GSD, 30 km swath, 14-bit radiometric resolution, SNR exceeding 500 in VNIR. Off-nadir tilt to 30 degrees enables 4-day revisit. One of three operational civilian full-VNIR-SWIR hyperspectral imagers in orbit; SWIR coverage to 2450 nm covers diagnostic absorption features for clay, carbonate, sulphate, and phyllosilicate minerals.

Full-waveform multi-beam spaceborne lidar mounted on the Japanese Experiment Module Exposed Facility of the International Space Station. Developed at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center under the NASA Earth Ventures Instrument programme (USD 94 million cost cap), with the University of Maryland as science PI. First instrument purpose-built for global 3D mapping of forest canopy structure from orbit. Three Nd:YAG lasers at 1064 nm produce 4 beams via Beam Dithering Unit; each beam is then dithered to produce 2 ground tracks for 8 tracks total. 25 m footprint, 60 m along-track spacing, 600 m cross-track spacing. Coverage 51.6 degrees south to 51.6 degrees north (ISS inclination). Launched December 2018, moved to storage March 2023, reinstalled April 2024, operational since.

Four-band multispectral plus panchromatic pushbroom imager on the GeoEye-1 satellite, operated by Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence / DigitalGlobe). Designed by GeoEye, built on a General Dynamics SA-200HP spacecraft. Launched 6 September 2008. Panchromatic GSD 0.41 m at nadir (450-900 nm); 4-band multispectral GSD 1.64 m at nadir covering Blue, Green, Red, Near-IR (450-920 nm). 15.2 km swath at nadir. Extended operational service since design life expired September 2015. The GeoEye-1 imager was the highest-resolution commercial imaging sensor at time of launch in 2008.

Pushbroom dual-detector hyperspectral imaging spectrometer mounted on the Japan Experiment Module Exposed Facility (JEM EF) of the International Space Station, developed under the programme authority of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). 185 contiguous bands covering 400-2500 nm: 58 VNIR bands at 10 nm sampling (400-970 nm) and 127 SWIR bands at 12.5 nm sampling (900-2500 nm). GSD 20 m cross-track and 30 m along-track, 20 km swath, 12-bit quantisation. Launched December 2019; first imaging September 2020. Designed explicitly for mineral and resource exploration under METI's natural-resources mandate. CEOS database stated EOL December 2025; operator released radiometric correction version 4 on 2026-02-18 with no decommission announcement, indicating continued operation; status treated as operational with this caveat as of 2026-05-19. Data access restricted to Japanese domestic users via Tellus platform.

Simera Sense 1.5U CubeSat VNIR hyperspectral imager using a continuously variable optical filter (CVOF). 32 user-configured bands per acquisition selected from 400 available spectral positions across 460-860 nm. 4.75 m GSD at 500 km, 19.4 km swath, 12-bit, 4096 pixels across-track, 5.5 um pixel size, 1-to-8-stage digital TDI per band. The 400-band figure is the filter's available spectral resolution; each acquisition delivers 32 bands.

First-generation miniaturised VNIR hyperspectral imager developed by cosine Research BV (Warmond, Netherlands) for small satellite platforms. Covers 400-1000 nm in 45 spectral bands at 16 nm sampling, 70 m GSD, 200 x 140 km swath from 500 km orbit. Mass 1.3 kg, 10 W power, 1.5 L volume. First flew on ESA GomX-4B (launched February 2018, mission ended March 2023) as the first miniaturised spaceborne hyperspectral imager with onboard Level-2 processing capability. Succeeded by HyperScout-2 (adds TIR channel); both generations currently offered as build-to-order payloads.

Dual-channel miniaturised hyperspectral and thermal imager developed by cosine Research BV (Warmond, Netherlands) for small satellite platforms. VNIR channel covers 400-1000 nm in 45 spectral bands at 16 nm sampling, 75 m GSD; TIR channel covers 8000-14000 nm in 3 broadband thermal filters, 490 m GSD. Swath 310 x 150 km from 540 km orbit. Total mass 1.7 kg, 12 W peak power. First launched September 2020 on ESA PhiSat-1 as the first spaceborne hyperspectral instrument with onboard AI cloud-detection capability. Offered as a build-to-order payload for nano, micro, and larger satellite platforms with 3-month lead time.

HySpex Baldur series: high-speed industrial push-broom hyperspectral cameras from HySpex (NEO). Three variants: V-1024 N (VNIR 408-996 nm, up to 1024 pixels, 650-1020 fps), S-640i N (SWIR 950-1730 nm, 640 pixels, 560 fps), S-384 N (SWIR 960-2500 nm, 384 pixels, 395 fps). Designed for manufacturing process control and conveyor inspection, NOT for airborne deployment. 4x higher light sensitivity than HySpex Classic series. Nyquist spectral sampling. EO-Atlas positioning note: Baldur is industrial process-control instrumentation; its primary use cases are food sorting, pharmaceutical QC, mineral core scanning, and precision manufacturing, not airborne EO campaigns.

HySpex Classic series: the full-size airborne and laboratory hyperspectral imaging spectrometer line from HySpex (NEO). Covers VNIR (400-1000 nm), SWIR (950-2500 nm), and combined VNIR+SWIR configurations at higher resolution and larger format than the Mjolnir family. Core airborne pairing: VNIR-1800 (1800 pixels, 186 bands, 0.16 mrad pixel FOV) + SWIR-384 (384 pixels, 288 bands, MCT cooled to 150K) or SWIR-640 (640 pixels). The VS-1200 is an integrated VNIR+SWIR system at 400-2500 nm. Designed for piloted research aircraft, field, and laboratory scanning. DLR uses VNIR-1800 + SWIR-384 as EnMAP airborne simulator. Superseded the ODIN-1024 line for the largest-format airborne role; ODIN-1024 was discontinued and removed from the current HySpex product catalogue.

Compact airborne and UAV-deployable push-broom hyperspectral camera family from HySpex (NEO). Three variants: VS-620 (combined VNIR+SWIR, 400-2500 nm, 490 bands), V-1240 (VNIR-only, 400-1000 nm, 200-400 bands), S-620 (SWIR-only, 970-2500 nm, 300 bands). Built on optical architecture derived from the HySpex ODIN. Sub-6.5 kg for VS-620; designed for UAV integration alongside GNSS/IMU. Push-broom imaging spectrometer with separate VNIR (InGaAs/CMOS) and SWIR (MCT) detectors co-aligned.

X-band synthetic aperture radar imager operating at 9.65 GHz, the sole imaging payload of the ICEYE satellite constellation. ICEYE has fielded three sensor generations: Gen 2 (300 MHz chirp bandwidth, 1 m finest resolution), Gen 3 (600 MHz, 0.5 m), and Gen 3.5 (1200 MHz, 0.25 m). All generations use VV single-polarisation and an electronically steered phased-array antenna. Modes span Dwell Precise (0.25 m, 5 x 5 km) through Scan Wide (27 m, 200 x 300 km). Satellites are ITAR-free and operate in sun-synchronous orbits. As of early 2026 the constellation comprises 60+ satellites.

192-band VNIR hyperspectral imager flown on the Intuition-1 6U CubeSat. 465-940 nm, 3-6 nm spectral resolution, 25 m GSD at 535 km, 40 km swath, push-broom CMOS with linear variable filters.

Whiskbroom multispectral scanning spectroradiometer, 36 discrete bands from 405 to 14385 nm (visible through thermal infrared), daily global coverage at 250/500/1000 m GSD per band group. Two flight units: MODIS-Terra (launched December 1999, orbit drifted to about 9:06 AM equatorial crossing as of December 2025, power-constrained) and MODIS-Aqua (launched May 2002, in free-drift since December 2021, passivation scheduled Fall 2026; MODIS itself remains operational on both spacecraft). Built by Raytheon SBRS (formerly Hughes SBRS / Santa Barbara Research Center) under NASA contract, with NASA GSFC holding science leadership. Foundational input to global vegetation time-series and deforestation monitoring (MOD13Q1 NDVI/EVI, MCD64A1 burned area, MOD14 active fire).

High-resolution multispectral pushbroom imager and sole payload of the Sentinel-2 satellite series. 13 discrete bands across visible to shortwave infrared, 10/20/60 m native GSD per band group. Not an imaging spectrometer.

Multispectral pushbroom optical imager, primary instrument on Landsat 8 (launched 11 February 2013). Built by Ball Aerospace under NASA contract; Ball acquired by BAE Systems on 16 February 2024. NASA owns the space segment; USGS operates the ground segment and distributes data at no cost. 9 spectral bands across visible/NIR/SWIR plus panchromatic and cirrus, 30 m GSD (15 m panchromatic), 185 km swath, 12-bit acquisition. Combined 8-day revisit with Landsat 9 OLI-2 underpins GLAD-L pantropical deforestation alerts and the Hansen Global Forest Change annual dataset.

Multispectral pushbroom optical imager, primary instrument on Landsat 9 (launched 27 September 2021; USGS operational control from 11 August 2022). Built by Ball Aerospace (acquired by BAE Systems February 2024) under NASA contract. Same 9-band configuration as OLI on Landsat 8, but upgraded to 14-bit quantization (vs 12-bit), yielding 16,384 vs 4,096 grey levels and improving radiometric discrimination of dark targets including closed-canopy tropical forest. 30 m GSD (15 m panchromatic), 185 km swath, 705 km sun-synchronous orbit. With Landsat 8 OLI provides 8-day combined revisit, the operational base for GLAD-L pantropical deforestation alerts.

Fully polarimetric P-band Synthetic Aperture Radar, sole imaging payload of the ESA BIOMASS satellite (Earth Explorer 7, launched 29 April 2025). First P-band SAR in orbit for Earth observation. Centre frequency 435 MHz (about 69 cm wavelength). Primary product is global above-ground forest biomass at 4 ha resolution annually; secondary product is forest disturbance detection at about 0.25 ha minimum mapping unit with global revisit every five months in the interferometric phase. Built by Airbus DS UK as prime, with Harris Corporation (12 m deployable mesh reflector) and Thales Alenia Space (feed array) as key subcontractors.

Active phased-array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar, sole imaging payload of the ALOS-2 satellite. Operated by JAXA, built by Mitsubishi Electric. Operates at L-band (centre frequency 1257.5 MHz, wavelength about 23.84 cm), enabling deep canopy penetration for tropical forest disturbance detection. Six resolution modes (Spotlight, Stripmap Ultrafine/High-Sensitive/Fine, ScanSAR Normal/Wide). Backbone of the JJ-FAST tropical deforestation alert system and JAXA's Annual Forest/Non-Forest Mosaic.

Active phased-array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar, sole imaging payload of the ALOS-4 satellite (launched 1 July 2024). Operated by JAXA, built on the JAXA Advanced Satellite Bus-3 by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Operates at L-band (selectable centre frequencies 1236.5 / 1257.5 / 1278.5 MHz), enabling deep canopy penetration for tropical forest disturbance detection. Principal advance over PALSAR-2 is the wider ScanSAR swath at finer resolution: 700 km swath at 25 m resolution versus PALSAR-2 350 km swath at 100 m. Stripmap modes 3 to 10 m resolution; Spotlight 3 by 1 m over 35 km scene. Dual polarisation (HH+HV) confirmed.

Pushbroom VNIR hyperspectral imaging spectrometer, primary payload on Pixxel's six-satellite Firefly constellation. Designed, built, and integrated in-house by Pixxel at its MegaPixxel facility in Bengaluru. Captures 135 contiguous bands from 470 to 900 nm at 5.4 m native GSD and a 40 km swath. A material delivery constraint: users select up to 45 of the 135 bands per capture; only the selected 45 are downlinked per scene. Atmospheric correction via piSOFIT, Pixxel's implementation of NASA JPL ISOFIT using a neural-network MODTRAN emulator with per-pixel Bayesian uncertainty estimates. All 6 Firefly satellites (FFLY 1-3 launched January 2025, FFLY 4-6 launched August 2025) are operational as of May 2026. NASA CSDA program vendor, contract through November 2028.

Pushbroom VSWIR hyperspectral imaging spectrometer and primary payload on Pixxel's single-satellite Honeybee Zero technology demonstrator. First Pixxel instrument to cover the full visible-to-shortwave-infrared range: approximately 450 contiguous bands from 400 to 2550 nm at 8 m native GSD across a 5 km swath. Designed, built, and integrated in-house by Pixxel at its MegaPixxel facility in Bengaluru. As of May 2026, Honeybee Zero has not launched; all specifications are per Pixxel pre-launch operator documentation. Launch vehicle unconfirmed. No commissioning data or user imagery available.

Pushbroom dual-detector hyperspectral imaging spectrometer on the PRISMA satellite, operated by the Italian Space Agency (ASI). 239 contiguous channels covering 400-2505 nm (66 VNIR channels at 400-1010 nm plus 173 SWIR channels at 920-2505 nm), 30 m GSD, 30 km swath, 12-bit quantization. Co-registered panchromatic channel at 5 m GSD. Launched 22 March 2019; the earliest of the three full-VNIR-SWIR civilian hyperspectral missions in routine operation. SWIR coverage to 2505 nm spans the diagnostic absorption features of clay, carbonate, sulphate, and phyllosilicate alteration minerals central to mineral exploration targeting.

Nine-band (1 panchromatic + 8 multispectral) pushbroom imager carried on each of the six WorldView Legion satellites, operated by Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence). Developed by Maxar Space Systems (now Lanteris Space Systems) with sensor collaboration from Raytheon. Native GSD 0.29 m panchromatic and 0.48 m multispectral at nadir from a 450 km mid-inclination orbit. 9 km swath at nadir. Spectral coverage 400-920 nm across 8 VNIR multispectral bands plus panchromatic 450-800 nm. The constellation of six satellites enables up to 15 revisits per day above a 15-degree sun angle, representing a 30x improvement in collection capacity over prior single-satellite WorldView missions. Designated the Spaceview-NG (Next Generation Spaceview) imager in WMO OSCAR records. No published cross-calibration standard between individual constellation units.

Eight-band (plus panchromatic) VNIR pushbroom imager on the WorldView-2 satellite, operated by Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence / DigitalGlobe). The WV110 instrument was built by ITT Corporation on a Ball Aerospace BCP-5000 spacecraft. Launched 8 October 2009. Panchromatic GSD 0.46 m at nadir (450-800 nm); 8-band multispectral GSD 1.84 m at nadir covering Coastal Blue through NIR2 (396-1043 nm). 16.4 km swath at nadir. The first commercial satellite sensor to offer 8-band multispectral imaging. Extended operational service since design life expired January 2017.

Four-subsystem multispectral pushbroom imager on the WorldView-3 satellite, operated by Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence / DigitalGlobe). Launched 13 August 2014 aboard Atlas V 401 into a 617 km sun-synchronous orbit at 97.97 degrees inclination. Imager built by ITT Exelis (now L3Harris Technologies) on a Ball Aerospace BCP-5000 spacecraft. Four focal plane array subsystems: panchromatic at 0.31 m GSD (450-800 nm); 8-band VNIR multispectral at 1.24 m GSD (397-1039 nm); 8-band SWIR multispectral at 3.70 m GSD (1195-2365 nm); 12-band CAVIS at 30 m GSD (405-2245 nm) for atmospheric correction. Commercial, tasked-acquisition only, no open archive. The 3.70 m SWIR subsystem is the only operational commercial imager capable of resolving alteration mineral assemblages at outcrop scale, making WV-3 the standard tool for drill-target confirmation after regional hyperspectral surveys. Operational since 2014, exceeded 7.25-year design life, estimated service life 10-12 years.

Simera Sense 1.5U CubeSat optical payload family for high-resolution Earth observation. Primary multispectral variant (MultiScape100) delivers 8-band VNIR imagery (1 panchromatic + 7 bands, 450-900 nm) at 4.75 m GSD from 500 km, 19.4 km swath, 12-bit, 4096 pixels across-track, 32-stage digital TDI. TriScape100 RGB/video variant and HyperScape100 hyperspectral variant share the same 1.5U platform.

Simera Sense 12U CubeSat optical payload family for high-resolution Earth observation. Primary multispectral variant (MultiScape200) delivers 8-band VNIR imagery (1 panchromatic + 7 bands, 450-900 nm) at 1.5 m GSD from 500 km, 14 km swath, 12-bit, 8192 pixels across-track, 32-stage digital TDI. TriScape200 RGB/video variant on the same 12U platform at 65.4 MP (9344 x 7000 pixels).

Simera Sense 1U CubeSat optical payload family for wide-area Earth observation. Primary variant (TriScape50) delivers RGB and HD video at 30 m GSD from 500 km with a 120 km swath. The xScape50 platform also supports 8-band VNIR multispectral (MultiScape50) and 32-from-400-band CVOF hyperspectral (HyperScape50) configurations on the same 1U form factor. 4096 pixels across-track, 5.5 um pixel size.