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The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) is the only high spatial resolution instrument aboard the Terra satellite, capturing images of Earth in 14 different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum, from visible to thermal infrared light. ASTER provides a Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM) of Earth's land surface at approximately 30-meter spatial resolution. ASTER GDEM is available for download on Earthdata Search. 

Learn more about ASTER

Instrument Type

Spectrometers/Radiometers

Instrument Subtype

Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers

Specifications

Resolution

Spatial

15 m Very Near Infrared (VNIR), 30 m Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR), 90 m Thermal Infrared (TIR)

Spectral

0.52 - 0.86 µm Very Near Infrared (VNIR), 1.600 - 2.430 µm Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR), 8.125 - 11.65 µm Thermal Infrared (TIR)

Temporal

Varies

Platforms

Terra

Launch Date
December 18, 1999
Altitude
705 km
Inclination
98.5°

Related Data Centers/Projects

LP DAAC

NASA's Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center provides data crucial to the investigation, characterization, and monitoring of biological, geological, hydrological, ecological, and related conditions and processes.

Frequently Asked Questions

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