# Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E)
*sensor . products*

Twelve-channel, six-frequency conical-scan passive-microwave imaging radiometer on NASA Aqua (launched 2002-05-04). Developed and provided by JAXA; built by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Offset parabolic reflector 1.6 m diameter, conical scan at 40 rpm, Earth incidence angle 55 deg, swath 1450 km. Frequency bands: 6.925, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, 89.0 GHz, V and H polarisation at all channels. Retrieved sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration, snow water equivalent, soil moisture, precipitation, water vapour, and ocean wind speed. Operated 9+ years against a 3-year design life; rotation halted 2011-10-04 due to antenna bearing failure (motor torque exceeded 4.5 Nm limit).

## Specifications
- **manufacturer**: mitsubishi-electric
- **product status**: retired
- **deployment context**: orbital
- **sensor**: {"instrument_family":"radiometer","measurement_principle":"passive","frequency_bands_ghz":[6.925,10.65,18.7,23.8,36.5,89],"polarisation_modes":["V","H"],"scan_type":"conical","scan_rate_rpm":40,"incidence_angle_deg":55,"antenna_diameter_m":1.6,"swath_km":1450,"resolution_per_band_km":[{"frequency_ghz":6.925,"footprint_km":"43x75"},{"frequency_ghz":10.65,"footprint_km":"29x51"},{"frequency_ghz":18.7,"footprint_km":"16x27"},{"frequency_ghz":23.8,"footprint_km":"18x32"},{"frequency_ghz":36.5,"footprint_km":"8.2x14.4"},{"frequency_ghz":89,"footprint_km":"3.7x6.5"}],"notes":"Two 89 GHz feedhorns: 3.7x6.5 km and 3.5x5.9 km per JAXA EORC sharaku page. Predecessor to AMSR2. Three-year design life, operated 9+ years."}
- **entity type**: sensor
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-04
- **verified by**: agency-doc
- **claim status**: agency-sourced
- **provider**: mitsubishi-electric
- **attributes**: {"kind":"sensor","manufacturer":"mitsubishi-electric","product_status":"retired","deployment_context":"orbital","description":"Twelve-channel, six-frequency conical-scan passive-microwave imaging radiometer on NASA Aqua (launched 2002-05-04). Developed and provided by JAXA; built by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. Offset parabolic reflector 1.6 m diameter, conical scan at 40 rpm, Earth incidence angle 55 deg, swath 1450 km. Frequency bands: 6.925, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, 89.0 GHz, V and H polarisation at all channels. Retrieved sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration, snow water equivalent, soil moisture, precipitation, water vapour, and ocean wind speed. Operated 9+ years against a 3-year design life; rotation halted 2011-10-04 due to antenna bearing failure (motor torque exceeded 4.5 Nm limit).","sensor":"{\"instrument_family\":\"radiometer\",\"measurement_principle\":\"passive\",\"frequency_bands_ghz\":[6.925,10.65,18.7,23.8,36.5,89],\"polarisation_modes\":[\"V\",\"H\"],\"scan_type\":\"conical\",\"scan_rate_rpm\":40,\"incidence_angle_deg\":55,\"antenna_diameter_m\":1.6,\"swath_km\":1450,\"resolution_per_band_km\":[{\"frequency_ghz\":6.925,\"footprint_km\":\"43x75\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":10.65,\"footprint_km\":\"29x51\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":18.7,\"footprint_km\":\"16x27\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":23.8,\"footprint_km\":\"18x32\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":36.5,\"footprint_km\":\"8.2x14.4\"},{\"frequency_ghz\":89,\"footprint_km\":\"3.7x6.5\"}],\"notes\":\"Two 89 GHz feedhorns: 3.7x6.5 km and 3.5x5.9 km per JAXA EORC sharaku page. Predecessor to AMSR2. Three-year design life, operated 9+ years.\"}"}

## Editorial
The Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E) was a twelve-channel, six-frequency conical-scan passive-microwave imaging radiometer developed and provided by JAXA, built by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and flown aboard the NASA Aqua satellite, which launched on 4 May 2002.[^jaxa-eorc-amsre-sensor][^aqua-nasa-amsre] AMSR-E was the first JAXA-provided instrument aboard a NASA Earth Observing System (EOS) spacecraft.

The instrument used an offset parabolic reflector 1.6 m in diameter, rotating at 40 rpm in a conical scan geometry at a fixed Earth incidence angle of 55 degrees, producing a swath width of 1450 km. This geometry provided near-daily global coverage over the instrument's operational life.[^jaxa-eorc-amsre-sensor][^nasa-earthdata-amsre]

AMSR-E operated at six frequency bands: 6.925, 10.65, 18.7, 23.8, 36.5, and 89.0 GHz, with both vertical and horizontal polarisation at each channel, totalling twelve measurement channels.[^jaxa-eorc-amsre-sensor] Spatial footprint at 6.925 GHz was reported as 43 x 75 km by JAXA EORC[^jaxa-eorc-amsre-sensor] and as 74 x 43 km by NASA Earthdata[^nasa-earthdata-amsre], reflecting a difference in axis convention (along-track x cross-track versus cross-track x along-track) between the two sources; the physical footprint dimensions are equivalent. At 89.0 GHz the instrument carried two feedhorns, achieving footprints of approximately 3.7 x 6.5 km and 3.5 x 5.9 km.[^jaxa-eorc-amsre-sensor]

AMSR-E retrieved a suite of geophysical variables including sea surface temperature, sea ice concentration and extent, snow water equivalent, soil moisture, atmospheric water vapour, precipitation rate, and ocean wind speed.[^nasa-earthdata-amsre][^aqua-nasa-amsre] These retrievals supported climate and weather applications including sea ice mapping and global water cycle monitoring.

Designed for a three-year operational life, AMSR-E operated for more than nine years before experiencing a rotation anomaly in which increased rotation friction caused torque to exceed the design limit.[^jaxa-press-amsre-halt] JAXA halted instrument rotation on 4 October 2011 to prevent further mechanical damage.[^jaxa-press-amsre-halt] No further scanning observations were collected after that date.

## Compositional position
- aqua (missions) --[mission_payloads]--> Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for EOS (AMSR-E)

## Sources
- [jaxa-eorc-amsre-sensor] | AMSR-E sensor specifications, JAXA EORC AMSR web | https://sharaku.eorc.jaxa.jp/AMSR/ov_amsre/sensor.html | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-04
- [nasa-earthdata-amsre] | Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer EOS, NASA Earthdata | https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/sensors/amsr-e | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-04
- [jaxa-press-amsre-halt] | Observation Halted by AMSR-E, JAXA press release 2011-10-04 | https://global.jaxa.jp/press/2011/10/20111004_amsr-e_e.html | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-04
- [aqua-nasa-amsre] | AMSR-E instrument page, Aqua Project Science, NASA | https://aqua.nasa.gov/amsr-e | tier=agency-doc | accessed=2026-06-04

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/products/sensor/amsr-e
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