BackForwardInstrument:  ESMR (Nimbus-5) 

Instrument details
Acronym ESMR (Nimbus-5)
Full name Electrically Scanning Microwave Radiometer
Purpose Observation of sea ice and heavy precipitation over the ocean
Short description

Single frequency, 19.35 GHz, single polarisation. Planar antenna, nadir pointing
Background

Prototypes paving the way for MW radiometry from space
Scanning Technique

Electronic: cross-track, ±50 deg swath 3100 km
Resolution 25 km s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Global, twice/day
Mass 28 kg Power 40 W Data Rate 0.4 kbps

 

Providing Agency NASA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1973 to 1983
Last update: 2025-01-15
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 microwave radiometer
  • Cross-track, special or non-scanning microwave radiometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • MW imagery [in SSO]
  • MW imager [in SSO]
Mission objectives
No mission objectives have been defined.
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.