BackForwardInstrument:  CLOUD 

Instrument details
Acronym CLOUD
Full name CLOUD Camera
Purpose To track cloud envelope dynamics with images at a resolution of about 20 metres
Short description
  • Camera in visible spectrum at 670 nm wavelength
  • Acquires 11 scenes of the same cloud scene every 20 seconds over a scan time of 200 seconds from several viewing angles.
  • Enables spatial rendering of clouds in 3D and measurement of their rate of growth.
Background
  • New development
Scanning Technique
  • Scans to view clouds from different angles
Resolution 20 m
Coverage / Cycle Images cover an area of 80 km × 45 km
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency ISA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 2027 to 2030
Last update: 2024-10-07
Detailed characteristics
Satellites this instrument is flying on

Note: a red tag indicates satellites no longer operational, a green tag indicates operational satellites, a blue tag indicates future satellites

Instrument classification
  • Earth observation instrument
  • Passive optical radiometer or spectrometer
  • High resolution optical imager
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 2
  • Multi-angle, multi-polarization radiometers
  • Multi-angle, multi-polarization radiometer
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud top height
  • Cloud top pressure
  • Cloud type
Evaluation of Measurements

The following list indicates which measurements can typically be retrieved from this category of instrument. To see a full Gap Analysis by Variable, click on the respective variable.

Note: table can be sorted by clicking on the column headers
Note: * Primary mission objective.
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Cloud cover5 - marginalInfrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s)
Fire fractional cover2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS channels with high resolution for boundary detection
Glacier cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Long time for mapping.. Daylight only.VIS channels
Glacier topography5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Long time for mapping.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s) and cross-track steering capability for stereoscopy between images from neighbour orbits
Ice sheet topography5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Long time for mapping.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s) and cross-track steering capability for stereoscopy between images from neighbour orbits
Land surface topography5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Long time for mapping.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s) and cross-track steering capability for stereoscopy between images from neighbouring orbits
Sea-ice cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s)
Snow cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Infrequent coverage.. Daylight only.VIS channel(s)