DIEGO: A Multispectral Thermal Mission for Earth Observation on the International Space Station

Johannes A Schultz,Maik Hartmann,Sascha Heinemann,Jens Janke,Carsten Jürgens,Dieter Oertel,Gernot Rücker,Frank Thonfeld,Andreas Rienow

doi:10.1080/22797254.2019.1698318

Abstract

ABSTRACT Observations in thermal infrared (IR) contribute substantially to the understanding of the global fluxes of energy and matter between Earth’s surface, ocean and atmosphere. Key parameters derived from such observations are Sea Surface Temperature (SST), Land Surface Temperature (LST) and Land Surface Emissivity (LSE). These variables are important for weather forecasting and climate modelling. However, satellite systems currently in orbit provide only a small number of spectral bands in the thermal region, and consequently cannot be used for temperature emissivity separation (TES) to accurately derive LST and LSE. Hence, capacities to investigate processes or phenomena where LST in high temporal and high spatial resolution (<100 m) is required, such as agricultural applications or urban heat island monitoring, are limited. Additionally, the measurement of radiative energy released from active large and small fires, which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, is still challenging with current IR systems. Here, we introduce the proposed multispectral sensor system DIEGO (Dynamic Infrared Earth Observation on the ISS Orbit) with 11 spectral bands and a ground sampling distance of less than 60 m, which aims to reduce the observation gap in the thermal infrared significantly.

Highlights

Climate change is affecting the Earth system to an unprecedented extent and intensity, causing severe socioeconomic and ecological consequences
The major difference between DIEGO and ECOSTRESS is the availability of two non-saturating mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) bands and three nadir facing spectral bands in VNIR
Higher spatial resolution is especially needed for the investigation of urban heat islands, agriculture and forest applications, volcanic monitoring and last but not least to measure the contribution of small fires to greenhouse gas emissions

Summary

Introduction

Climate change is affecting the Earth system to an unprecedented extent and intensity, causing severe socioeconomic and ecological consequences. The multispectral DIEGO (Dynamic Infrared Earth Observation on the ISS Orbit) sensor with 11 spectral bands is aiming to reduce the observation gap in LWIR and MWIR significantly and to provide data for many scientific fields including meteorology, oceanography, climatology, agricultural and forest sciences, volcanology, geomorphology, and environmental sciences.

Results

Conclusion