BackForwardInstrument:  RIS 

Instrument details
Acronym RIS
Full name Retroreflector In Space
Purpose Laser long-path absorption measurements of atmospheric trace species: CFC12, CH4, CO, HNO3, O3 and others
Short description Single cube-corner reflector. A laser beam is transmitted from a ground station, reflected by RIS, and received back at the ground station. The absorption spectrum of the intervening atmosphere is measured by the Doppler shift of the reflected beam. The column contents and vertical profiles of atmospheric trace gases are obtained from the measured spectra (in the range 0.4-14 µm)
Background New development
Scanning Technique N/A
Resolution N/A
Coverage / Cycle N/A
Mass 43 kg Power Data Rate

 

Providing Agency JAXA
Instrument Maturity Flown on an R&D satellite
Utilization Period: 1996 to 1997
Last update: 2017-03-31
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
  • Other payload component
  • Positioning system
WIGOS Subcomponents No WIGOS subcomponents have been defined.
Mission objectives
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
Crustal motion (horizontal and vertical)3 - highGround stations network needed.. Long time series needed.Opportunity information from laser retroreflectors used for precise orbitography
Crustal plates positioning3 - highGround stations network needed.. Long time series needed.Opportunity information from laser reflectors used for precise orbitography
Geoid4 - fairGround stations network needed.. Long time series needed.Opportunity information from laser reflector array used for precise orbit determination
Gravity field3 - highPartial information (geoid).Opportunity information from laser reflector array used for precise orbit determination