HYSPIRI, HYTES AND ECOSTRESS FOR GEOLOGICAL STUDIES

In 2007 the US National Research Council Earth Science Decadal Survey recommended launching the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HyspIRI). HyspIRI is a global mission designed to address a critical set of questions on how the surface of the earth is responding to natural and human-induced changes. The HyspIRI mission includes two instruments: a visible shortwave infrared (VSWIR) imaging spectrometer operating between 0.38 and 2.5 µm at a spatial scale of 60 m with a swath width of 145 km and a thermal infrared (TIR) multispectral scanner operating between 4 and 12 µm at a spatial scale of 60 m with a swath width of 600 km. The VSWIR and TIR instruments have revisit times of 19 and 5 days, respectively. The launch date for HyspIRI is in the 2024+ timeframe. As part of the risk reduction activities for the TIR instrument a space-ready Prototype HyspIRI Thermal Infrared Radiometer (PHyTIR) was developed in the laboratory for hardware risk reduction and an airborne Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES) for science risk reduction. In 2014 the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) was selected as part of the NASA Earth Ventures Instrument program. ECOSTRESS will use PHyTIR to address critical science questions. ECOSTRESS will have 5 TIR spectral bands, a spatial resolution of 68m x 38m (crosstrack x downtrack) and a revisit of every few days at varying times of day from the International Space Station (ISS). HyTES is an airborne instrument with 256 spectral bands in the TIR and pixel sizes of 2-30 m depending on flight altitude. This presentation will provide an overview of the HyspIRI, HyTES and ECOSTRESS programs and explore the planned use of ECOSTRESS and some current applications with HyTES such as mapping methane leaks.