BackForwardInstrument:  MSU-M 

Instrument details
Acronym MSU-M
Full name Multispectral VNIR radiometer
Purpose Cloud and vegetation observation
Short description 4-channel VIS/NIR radiometer [see detailed characteristics below]
Background Consolidated technology
Scanning Technique Pushbroom, swath 2000 km
Resolution 1.5 km at s.s.p.
Coverage / Cycle Near-global, every day (in daylight)
Mass Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency Roscosmos
Instrument Maturity Flown on operational programme
Utilization Period: 1974 to 1976
Last update: 2017-03-27
Detailed characteristics

Central wavelength

Spectral interval

SNR @ specified albedo

0.55 μm

0.5 - 0.6 μm

.… @ …. % albedo

0.65 μm

0.6 - 0.7 μm

.… @ …. % albedo

0.75 μm

0.7 - 0.8 μm

.… @ …. % albedo

0.95 μm

0.8 - 1.1 μm

.… @ …. % albedo

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 No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives
  • Cloud cover
  • Cloud optical depth
Secondary mission objectives
  • Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column
  • Cloud top height
  • Cloud type
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Tentative 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
VariableRelevance for measuring this variableOperational limitationsExplanation
Biomass5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. Biomass inferred from NDVI
Cloud cover5 - marginalDaylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Cloud optical depth4 - fairLow-density cloud only.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Cloud top height5 - marginalDaylight only.NIR channels to estimate the total-column O2 above the cloud top as measured around 760 nm
Cloud type5 - marginalDaylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Downward short-wave irradiance at Earth surface5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Highly indirect.VIS and NIR channels
Fire fractional cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Coarse spatial resolution.. Daylight only.VIS channels
Leaf Area Index (LAI)4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. LAI inferred from NDVI
Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)3 - highCloud sensitive.VIS and NIR channels
Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR)5 - marginalCloud sensitive.VIS channels, range undersampled
Sea-ice cover5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR (for contour enhancement) channels
Short-wave cloud reflectance5 - marginalNo specific limitation.VIS and NIR channels
Snow cover4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Soil moisture at surface5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Index only.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels. Soil moisture inferred from differential brightness
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA5 - marginalSpectral interpolation needed.. Information on BRDF needed.VIS and NIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Aerosol volcanic ash Total Column5 - marginalCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.VIS and NIR channels
Integrated Water Vapour (IWV)4 - fairCloud sensitive.. Daylight only.NIR channels in the bands of water vapour around 900 nm and 940 nm