BackForwardInstrument:  HIS 

Instrument details
Acronym HIS
Full name Hyperspectral Imaging Sensor
Purpose To measure outgoing reflected solar radiation from the Earth and incoming solar spectral irradiance.
Short description UV/VIS/NIR/SWIR imager in the spectral range 320–2400 nm. Prism spectrometer with spectral resolution <10 nm; sampling: 4 nm for <1000 nm, 8 nm for >1000 nm. SNR >150 at typical input radiance for earth view. For solar view the resolution below 400 nm is < 1nm.
Background New development. Linked to the Cryogenic Solar Absolute Radiometer (CSAR) by an advanced intercalibration mechanism
Scanning Technique Pushbroom, swath 100 km when pointing to the nadir. Also daily pointing to sun and moon for spectral irradiance by agile platform maneuverers.
Resolution IFOV at SSP 50-100 m over Land 200 m over Ocean
Coverage / Cycle Global in one month.
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency ESA
Instrument Maturity Backed by strong heritage
Utilization Period: 2031 to 2041
Last update: 2021-11-30
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
  • Moderate resolution optical imager
WIGOS Subcomponents
  • Subcomponent 1
  • Narrow-band or hyperspectral imagers
  • Hyperspectral imager (for vegetation)
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Downward short-wave irradiance at TOA
  • Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA
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
Biomass4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels. Biomass inferred from NDVI and LAI
Cloud cover5 - marginalDaylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Cloud optical depth3 - highLow-density cloud only.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Cloud type5 - marginalDaylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Downward short-wave irradiance at Earth surface3 - highCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Earth surface albedo5 - marginalCloud sensitive.VIS channels
Fire fractional cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.. Daylight only.VIS channels
Fraction of Absorbed PAR (FAPAR)3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS channels including Red at 700 nm
Leaf Area Index (LAI)2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS and NIR channels
O3 Total Column4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV channels. Ozone lines in the bands around 260 nm (Hartley) and/or 340 nm (Huggins)
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS channels, range accurately sampled
Short-wave cloud reflectance4 - fairNo specific limitation.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Snow cover2 - very highCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels, enabling screening snow from clouds
Soil moisture at surface5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR and SWIR channels. Soil moisture inferred from differential brightness
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA*4 - fairSpectral interpolation needed.. Information on BRDF needed.UV, VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV, VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.UV (specifically sensitive to ash), VIS, NIR and SWIR channels
Sea-ice cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS, NIR (for contour enhancement) and SWIR (for discrimination from clouds) channels