- All Categories
- Data
- News
- Missions
- Events
- Tools
- Activities
- Instruments
- Campaigns
- Documents
INSTRUMENTS
Explore the many instruments the European Space Agency use to observe the Earth. ESA offer data from a wide range of optical, radar, atmospheric, altimetric and gravimetric instrumentation.
Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers
ATSR
The Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) on board ERS-1 and ERS-2 mission consisted of two instruments, an Infra-Red Radiometer and a Microwave Sounder.
Instrument - Positioning/Navigation
PRARE
The Precise Range And Range-Rate Equipment (PRARE) was a microwave tracking system on board the ERS-1 and ERS-2 missions.
Instrument - Laser Ranging
LRR ERS
The Laser Retro-Reflector (LRR), on board the ERS-1 and ERS-2 missions, was an optical device for accurate satellite tracking from the ground to support instrument data evaluation.
Instrument - Scatterometers
SAR (ERS)
The Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) instrument aboard ERS-1 and ERS-2 was capable of high precision change detection of surface heights.
Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers
MWR (ERS)
The microwave radiometer (MWR) instrument on board the ERS-1 and ERS-2 missions provided measurements of the integrated atmospheric water vapour column and cloud liquid water content.
Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers
Thematic Mapper (TM)
The Thematic Mapper (TM) was a multispectral scanning radiometer on board Landsat-4 and Landsat-5.
Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers
Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS)
The Multi Spectral Scanner (MSS) instrument was carried aboard the Landsat-1 to 5 satellites.
Instrument - Radar Altimeters
STR (Swarm)
The Swarm Star Trackers retrieve information on the precise satellite orientation and attitude.
Instrument - Accelerometers
ACC (Swarm)
The Accelerometer measures the Swarm satellite’s non-gravitational acceleration in its respective orbit.
Instrument - GPS
GPSR and LRR (Swarm)
Each Swarm satellite is equipped with a Laser Retro-Reflector for external calibration and validation of the on-board GPS receiver.
Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers
Thermal Infra-Red Sensor (TIRS)
TIRS on Landsat-8 mission is a thermal imager that supplements observations from the OLI (Operational Land Imager) instrument.
Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers
Operational Land Imager (OLI)
The OLI, on board Landsat-8, measures in the visible, near infrared, and short wave infrared.
Instrument - Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers
Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+)
The Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) is the main instrument onboard Landsat-7.
Instrument - MAGNETOMETERS
VFM
The Vector Field Magnetometer (VFM) is the primary instrument carried aboard the Swarm satellites.
Instrument - MAGNETOMETERS
ASM
The Absolute Scalar Magnetometer on the Swarm satellites measures the strength of the magnetic field.
Instrument - Magnetic Field/Electric Field Instruments
EFI
The Electric Field Instrument (EFI) aboard the Swarm satellites is the first 3D ionospheric imager in space.