ASTER
(Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer)
is an imaging
instrument that is flying on Terra, a
satellite launched in December 1999 as part of NASA's Earth
Observing System (EOS). ASTER is a cooperative effort between NASA and
Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Earth
Remote Sensing Data Analysis Center (ERSDAC). ASTER will be used to
obtain detailed maps of land surface temperature, emissivity, reflectance
and elevation. The EOS platforms are part of NASA's Earth Science
Enterprise, whose goal is to obtain a better understanding of the
interactions between the biosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and
atmosphere. |
Latest
Featured Image from ASTER:
Alluvial Fan, China
A vast alluvial fan blossoms across the desolate landscape between the Kunlun and Altun mountain ranges that form the southern border of the Taklimakan Desert in China’s XinJiang Province.
Updated
on 10/11/2004
|