MSU-GS Electro-L Imager

The MSU-GS (also known as the Electro-L Imager) is a 10-channel multispectral radiometer operating aboard Russian Electro-L geostationary meteorological satellites for full-disc visible and infrared imaging.^[1][2] The instrument carries four channels at 1 km ground sampling distance and six channels at 4 km ground sampling distance.^[1]

The four 1 km channels are centred at approximately 0.57, 0.72, and 0.86 micrometres in the visible and near-infrared, and at 3.75 micrometres in the mid-wave infrared.^[1] The six 4 km channels span water vapour absorption and thermal infrared spectral regions, with centres at approximately 6.35, 8.0, 8.7, 9.7, 10.7, and 11.7 micrometres.^[1] This channel configuration supports applications including sea surface temperature retrieval, atmospheric motion vector derivation, thermal anomaly detection, and vegetation monitoring.^[1]

MSU-GS uses a mechanical scanning mechanism with continuous east-west sweep and stepped north-south motion, with a full-disc scan period of 15 to 30 minutes.^[1] Instrument mass is approximately 106 kg with a power requirement of approximately 150 W.^[1] Imagery is disseminated via HRIT and LRIT protocols.^[2] The instrument has been flown on Electro-L N1, N2, N3, and N4.^[1][3]