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Instrument details
Acronym
NISTAR
Full name
NIST Advanced Radiometer (NIST = National Institute of Standards and Technology Advanced Radiometer)
Purpose
Continuous monitoring of the Earth radiation towards space in daylight
Short description
3-cavity radiometer covering the ranges: 1)
0.2-100 μm to measure the total radiant power emerging from the Earth; 2) 0.2-4 μm to measure the total reflected solar radiance; and 0.7-4 μm to measure the fraction of solar radiance reflected in NIR, SWIR and part of MWIR
Background
DSCOVR is the refurbishment of the Triana satellite stored on the ground in 2000 [named after Rodrigo de Triana, the first of Columbus's crew to sight land in the Americas]
Scanning Technique
Earth pointing from the L1 Lagrange libration point observing the full disc
Resolution
N/A (full viewed Earth's disc)
Coverage / Cycle
Integrated over the full Earth's sun-illuminated disc, continuously over the day.
Mass
23.5 kg
Power
Data Rate
Providing Agency
NASA
Instrument Maturity
Backed by strong heritage
Utilization Period:
2015-10-28 to ≥2023
Last update:
2021-06-17
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 Broadband Earth radiation radiometer
WIGOS Subcomponents
Subcomponent 1 Broadband radiometer (for ERB)
Mission objectives
Primary mission objectives Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA Show all Show fewer
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
Variable Relevance for measuring this variable Operational limitations Explanation
Upward short-wave irradiance at TOA 2 - very high Information on BRDF needed. SW and Total (SW+LW) broadband channels. Frequent sampling from the L1 position enables capturing diurnal variations, particularly due to clouds. Also, changing solar incidence angle helps with irradiance computation
Upward long-wave irradiance at TOA 2 - very high No specific limitation. SW and Total (SW+LW) broadband channels with supporting narrow-bandwidth channel(s). LW computed as difference Total - SW
Instrument: NISTAR